


One Drunken Night in Germany

by acercrea



Category: Football RPF
Genre: Bayern München, Divorce, F/M, Pregnancy, love child
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-09
Updated: 2015-05-25
Packaged: 2018-03-11 06:58:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 33,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3318236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acercrea/pseuds/acercrea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Michaela just had a one night stand with a famous footballer. Unfortunately he is married.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In Bed With a Stranger

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I don’t own the German National Team, this is just fan fiction. Enjoy.

I woke up when my cell phone went off. I was clearly hung over because the sound of my phone ringing, which normally does not bother me, made me feel like I was smashing my brain into a wall, over and over again.

I answered without looking at the caller id because I had to make the offensive noise stop. “Hello?”

“You are never allowed to do shots again! Do you hear me? Every time you do, you wander off and I have to spend the rest of the night in a right strop wondering where you have gone to. Thank goodness you finally answered your phone. What happened to you? We did shots with those football guys you recognized and then you were just gone. You left me alone with that really tall guy with a floppy face who had a ridiculous name I can’t remember. Please tell me you are ok. You didn’t get killed last night did you?” my best friend Anna asked.

“If I tell you that I am ok, will you stop yelling at me? My brain is trying to break out of my skull and your yelling at me is not helping,” I replied.

“Michaela Elizabeth! You are hung over and making jokes? I have definitely been a bad influence on you. I will be quieter as soon as you tell me where you are so I can come get you. You need a celebratory breakfast for really taking my advice last night and drinking until you didn’t remember your wanker of an ex. Plus to soak up anything that might still be in your system,” Anna replied.

“I honestly have no memory of getting home last night. I remember getting to the club, and I remember the beer I had when we got there. Everything else is really fuzzy. Is this what it feels like to black out, because I officially don’t like it and never want it to happen again,” I groaned.

“What do you mean you have no memory of getting home last night? You aren’t at home. I have your keys, I am at your flat, and you are not here. Do you know where you are?” Anna asked.

“Not really, but I haven’t been able to open my eyes yet. Hold on,” I groaned, finally cracking my eyes open the smallest amount possible while still being able to see. “On the bright side, I slept in my contacts,” I remarked.

“Good, what do you see?” Anna questioned.

“I see a lamp, some sort of chair, a TV, there is a nightstand. I think it might be a hotel room,” I replied.

“Oh my gosh, did you go home with one of the football blokes?” Anna asked with an awed tone in her voice.

“I really hope the answer to that is no. Also what football guys? You said that I knew them?” I asked.

“Yeah, they came into the bar with some sort of trophy and you knew all of them by name. Since they were obviously Germans, I thought they might be friends with your cousins, or something. I just thought that of all of the bars in Germany, we happened to pick the one where you know all the hot guys in the joint. Oh! I just remembered. It was Per,” she said.

“What was Per?” I asked.

“The guy you left me with his name was Per. I remember because I made a joke about an apple and he just looked at me like I was insane. I am going to forgive you because the guy you were talking to was really hot,” Anna replied.

“What guy?” I asked, starting to piece together what had to have been the story, but was so unbelievable that I needed to hear her say it.

“Something with a T. We all did a shot together to celebrate something, and then you and he went off to a corner together. I think he was even drunker than you were. I was just bummed that Bastian left early, he was really hot,” she lamented.

“Was it Thomas?” I asked, getting a sinking feeling in my gut.

“Was what Thomas?” Anna asked back.

“The guy I went off with. Was his name Thomas?” I asked frantically.

The response came in stereo. Anna simply stated yes over the phone, while from behind me I heard a groggy, masculine voice ask, “Ja?”

“I will have to call you back, Anna,” I spoke into the phone and ended the call.

I was not sure how, but somehow Anna and I had ended up in a bar last night with the German National football team. We had all gotten really drunk, the boys were celebrating something, and if I had to guess, it was their recent world cup victory. Somehow, and I am really not sure how this happened because he is married, I had woken up in a bed with Thomas Müller. I looked over and see his naked torso appear over the top of the blankets. I look down in horror to discover that I am wearing a men’s shirt and nothing else.

“Hi, I am Michaela,” I say sheepishly, holding my hand out to him.


	2. Piecing it Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The words in Italics are the translation of the preceding German.  
> Disclaimer: I don’t own the Thomas Müller, or any members of the German National Team.  
> Last time: “Hi, I am Michaela,” I say sheepishly, holding my hand out to him.

“Ich denke das du weisst wer ich bin,” He replied taking my hand and shaking it. _I think you know who I am._

“Ja, Über es…” _Yeah, about that,_ I trailed off _._

“Do you know what happened last night?” he asked in accented english.

“A little bit. We were already drunk, we did shots, maybe a kiss or two,” I trailed off a bit, but then had a sudden realization. “Oh my gosh, Erik Durm is an asshole!” I shouted.

“What does Erik have to do with this?” Thomas asked.

“This is all his fault.  He dared us to kiss. What were we thinking? You are married, I am not one of those girls who sleeps with guys they just met, don’t you have a publicist or something to make sure you don’t get too drunk and do stuff like this? Oh my god,” I trailed off as a thought just occurred to me.

“No, I don’t have someone like that, this has never been an issue before now. My publicist went home early,” he replied. He realized that I was very still, so he asked, “What is wrong?”

“Do you see a condom?” I asked.

“What?” he asked.

“Protection, did we use a condom, do you see a wrapper or a used condom anywhere in this room?” I asked frantically.

“No, why?” he asked.

“Because we are naked. We have to assume that we had sex, and I am not on the pill, so I am hoping that we used a condom, otherwise I am going to be terrified until I get my period,” I replied.

“It is fine, don’t worry about it,” he replied, reaching over to the nightstand to grab his phone.

“Who are you calling, it is not fine, I am freaking out, being the baby mama out of wedlock to a married footballer was not high on my list of things to do in my life,” I said, starting to give in to full blown panic.

“Michaela,” he said softly, touching my shoulder to get me to turn around. When I did, he continued, “You are not going to get pregnant. I can’t have kids. It is not something that has ever been discussed publicly, because Lisa and I want it to remain private, but I am unable to get someone pregnant. I am going to call my publicist, so we can work this out, see if something needs to be done as far as keeping this quiet. I am going to go into the bathroom, so you can have some privacy while you get dressed. It is going to be ok,” he assured me, his blue eyes burning into me. I nodded, so he got up and walked to the bathroom, slowly shutting the door behind him.

I slowly walked around the room, looking for my clothing, thinking about what I had just done.

 

Thomas’ POV

“Thomas, my friend, how are you this morning?” my publicist, Jens, asked me when he answered the phone.

“We have a problem,” I spoke into the phone.


	3. The Wrong Impression

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I am mentioning again, that this is just a story, and for the record, I have no idea if Thomas Müller can have kids or not, he probably can, it is just a plot device.  
> Disclaimer: I don’t own Thomas Müller or the German National Team.  
> Last time: (Thomas’ POV) “We have a problem,” I spoke into the phone.

“What kind of problem?” Jens asked, his voice taking on that tone I always associate with him going into immediate action.

“I woke up in a hotel room with a girl I met last night. Have you heard anything?” I asked.

“Miraculously not yet. Did you do anything that might have attracted attention?” Jens asked me.

“According to her, Erik dared us to kiss at a club. I don’t know if anyone saw, or took pictures, but I am in my underwear, and she was only wearing my shirt when I left her to get dressed in the other room,” I replied.

“Do you think she is going to go to the press?” Jens asked.

“Honestly, she seems pretty freaked out by the whole thing. She couldn’t find evidence that we used protection, and she basically started to hyperventilate. I don’t think this was calculated, I think we both just happened to make a mistake,” I responded.

“You didn’t use protection?” Jens asked. I could hear a barely restrained note of panic in his voice.

“It is fine, Lisa and I found out about a year ago that I can’t have kids. There is no risk that she is going to get pregnant, and we can take some tests, make sure that there are no other concerns. We need be more concerned right now about damage control in case this gets out. What do we do?” I asked.

“Ok, I am down the hall, I will meet you at your room in a few minutes. Order room service, don’t let her leave before I get there,” Jens said, hanging up the phone.

I took a minute to compose myself before I went to the door. My hand was on the handle, before I thought better of it and knocked.

“I am dressed,” Michaela called from the other side of the door.

I emerged to see her straightening the covers on the bed. “You don’t have to do that,” I told her.

“It distracts me,” she replied.

“No, really, come sit at the table. My publicist is on his way over, we can order breakfast and try to wrap our heads around this. How does that sound?” I asked  her, gently taking the bed clothes from her and leading her toward the table at the other end of the room.

“What do you want to eat?” I asked her, picking up the phone.

“I am not really sure if I can eat. Something simple, with a side of toast,” she replied.

I placed the order and joined her at the table. “So where are you from?” I asked, when it became clear that she was not going to talk first.

“California. My mom is from here, though. She was born in Düsseldorf, and grew up in Aachen,” she told me.

“That explains why your accent is so good. Are you here visiting family?” I asked her.

“Sort of. My uncle is a professor at the Uni here in town and he got me this really cool internship through the international exchange program. I am examining the effect of foreign media on the German economy as part of my thesis, which sounds really boring, but is actually really fascinating. Like did you know that more than half of all advertisements you see on a day to day basis contain as much English as German?” she asked me.

“As someone who has had to make advertisements, I believe it. I never know what they are going to have me say until I get there and read the script. What is your major that allows you to come here and study that?” I asked her, finding that she was really easy to talk to.

“Business communication with a focus on new media,” she responded with the assured confidence of someone who is in love with what they do.

“And when you are done with Uni, what do you want to do?” I asked her.

“I could do just about anything. I could analyze advertising to help companies find their best markets, I could help determine which colors make people more likely to buy soap or chocolate, or whatever you want to advertise. I could be responsible for deciding what everyone buys,” she replied with enthusiasm.

“So you would be the person on the commercial set who tells the costumer that we need a bluer shirt because my eyes are not popping enough?” I asked.

She was about to respond, when there was a knock on the door. “Sorry, that must be Jens, I will be right back,” I replied, getting up to get the door. I was still not sure how it had happened, but I was beginning to understand why it would have happened. She was fascinating and passionate once you got her talking about something she enjoys. She was intelligent and articulate, and even with the language barrier, she was easy to talk to. There was also something about her that made me want to protect her. I was beginning to realize that I might have to be very careful with this girl so that I don’t give her the wrong impression. Could I have a crush on someone who is not my wife? Hopefully this won’t go anywhere and I won’t have to see her again after today.


	4. The Biggest Surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This is just fiction. None of this is true.  
> Disclaimer: I do not own Thomas Müller or any of the people or things you might recognize.

Michaela’s POV

It had been about a month and a half since my night with Thomas Müller, and I was doing a really good job of pretending that it had never happened. That was what Jens had recommended, so Thomas and I had agreed. I had Jens’ card, in case a reporter or someone approached me saying that they knew about Thomas and I. I also had Thomas’ number which I was not supposed to use unless I couldn’t reach Jens. We had also worked out a back story, to use in cases like this.

It had been a very surreal morning, mostly because we had spent the entire breakfast trying to work out spin. I don’t think that Jens believed me at first that I had no intention of telling anyone about what had happened between Thomas and I, and that I genuinely didn’t want anything. He kept looking at me like I was going to go running straight to the nearest tabloid. We had worked out that if anyone approached me, I was in Thomas’ hotel room that morning to ask him questions for my thesis, getting the perspective of someone who had been the subject of advertisements for my research. Jens had even e-mailed me a transcript with the interview I was supposed to have conducted with Thomas.

Anna and I were supposed to meet today, but I was on the phone with her to cancel because I had spent the morning puking. “I am sorry, An, I must have food poisoning, or something, because I feel so sick. Can we hang out some other time?” I asked, hunting in my medicine cabinet for something to settle my stomach.

“Oh, but how am I going to pick out the right outfit for my date tonight without my bestie?” she whined.

“Trust me, I would rather be hanging out with you than hunting my bathroom for Pepto,” I said as my hand landed on a box of tampons. It was in that moment that I realized that I hadn’t had my period since I had right after I had moved to Germany two months ago.  I do the mental math 3 times before I realize that Anna is shouting my name. I can barely hear her over the ringing in my ears.

Suddenly I feel nauseous for a very different reason. “Can I call you back in a minute? Great thanks,” I spoke while hanging up the phone without waiting for her response. I run to the calendar to do the math again and discover that I was underestimating the time. ‘I have been in Germany for nine weeks. I have not had my period in 8 weeks,’ I thought frantically. ‘But I have only slept with Thomas, who can’t have kids. But I have been throwing up all morning.’

Once I realized that the numbers were not going to change no matter how many times I recounted them, I grabbed my coat and walked to the Apotheke on the corner. I pretended not to speak German when the cashier asked me if I was ok.

Back in my apartment I paced for what was, so far at least, the longest three minutes of my life. I knew there was no point in getting another kit when I saw the pink line. You can’t have a false positive, that is only something that exists on TV. I took a couple of minutes to grapple with it, but after that I realized what I had to do. I numbly grabbed my phone and dialed the number that had been hand written on the back of the card.

“Thomas,” he answered his phone the way most Germans do.

“You are not as sterile as you were lead to believe,” I said in a voice choked with emotion.

“Michaela? Is that you?” he asked.

“Yes,” I replied.

“I am not as sterile as I was lead to believe? I don’t understand. What does that-“ he started to ask. He must have put the pieces together, because he then asked, “Are you sure it is mine?”

“You are the only person I have slept with in over a year. It is either yours or it is the baby Jesus. I will take a paternity test if you want to be as sure as I am,” I responded.

He then let out a string of curses, followed by, “Are you going to keep it?”

“I don’t know. Do you want me to keep it?” I asked.

“What?” he asked, thrown by my question.

“Well, it belongs to both of us, and this may be the only child you will ever have. It would be selfish of me not to consider that when deciding to keep it or not. Do you want me to keep it?” I repeated.

“I am honestly not sure. Have you talked to Jens yet?” he asked me.

“No, I called you first. I thought it was be a little more important to let you know first,” I replied.

“Can you come to München?” he asked.

“Now?” I asked.

“Yes, do you have classes tomorrow?” he asked.

“No, but I have no way of getting to München. I don’t have a car, and I am in no state to drive as it is. There is no way I would be able to concentrate on the road that long,” I replied.

“You won’t have to. Pack a bag, there will be a car for you downstairs in 15 minutes, I will call Jens, and we will have a plan by the time you get here,” he said.

“How do you know where I live?” I asked.

“Jens knows, trust me, it is what I pay him for. Just pack a bag,” Thomas insisted.

“Ok. Thomas?” I asked really quickly before he hung up.

“Yes, Michaela?” he replied.

“Everything is going to be ok, right? All of this is going to work out?” I asked.

“Yes. This will all work out. I have to go now, just answer your doorbell when it rings,” he said, hanging up the phone.

I put the phone in my pocket and did as I was told. I was still freaking out when the doorbell rang 14 minutes later, and a man in a suit took my bags to the car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: As you can probably tell, I have given up on trying to write in German. But I will be putting in the German place names. Let me know what you think!


	5. What Are We Going To Do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the German National Team, Thomas Müller, or anything you recognize. This is just fanfic.

Thomas’ POV

Pep was yelling at me. I deserved it, I have been distracted the whole training session, with good reason of course, but it is not like I can even argue this time. I have been playing horribly today, and I have no excuse that I can give him. Mainly because Jens told me that I am not allowed to tell anyone anything until the three of us had met to discuss this. He was mad at me for having her come to München without telling him first, but he couldn’t do anything about it without getting fired and he knew it. It felt like the right move at the time, and I stand by it now, but I did see Jens’ logic when he explained how it might look. But she had sounded so scared on the phone that it broke my heart a little bit.

Pep finished yelling at me, and practice was finally over. I moved as quickly as I dared, trying not to make it obvious that I was desperate to leave. I was just zipping up my training bag when Manu sat down next to me.

“So where is the fire?” he asked me.

“I am not in a hurry, I just want to get out of here before Pep starts yelling at me again,” I replied.

“Thomas, I am your best friend, you can’t fool me. You have been distracted all practice, your passes were sloppy, you were only on goal a handful of times, and you were unaware of where the ball was on the pitch. I haven’t seen you play this bad in over a year. What is on your mind?” Manu asked me.

“I am just dealing with some stuff. No big deal, I should be fine by training tomorrow, I just have somewhere to be,” I replied, shouldering my bag and walking away, hoping he would let it go.

“If you say so, man. But hey, if you need to let off steam later, I was thinking about doing some extra training, give me a call and we can go for a run or something,” Manu called to me as the door shut to the locker room.

“Hallo Sophia,” I said to Jens’ secretary twenty minutes later as I walked into the office. “Are they in the conference room?”

“Yes, Mr Müller. They are ready for you, do you need anything? Coffee, water, a snack maybe?” Sophia asked me.

“No, thank you. I will let myself in,” I replied, opening the door to the conference room. I have to admit I was both relieved and concerned when I saw Michaela again. I was relieved to see that she was here, it made me feel less anxious because I knew I had to help her figure all of this out and I had to get a grip to do that. But I was concerned when I saw her. She looked pale and stressed, but when she saw me, she did her best to give me a smile, and it broke my heart a little when she did not succeed.

“Hallo, Thomas,” she said in a small voice that did not sound anything like the vivacious, engaged woman I remembered from our last conversation in the hotel room about her studies.

“Hallo, Michaela. How are you feeling?” I asked.

“A little sick, but other than that, ok,” she replied.

“I took her to the doctor while you were at practice,” Jens said before I could ask. “She is fine, but she is definitely pregnant. We will have to wait a few more weeks before we can run the paternity test, but everything looks ok. The heartbeat is strong and everything seems to be in order. Down to business though. What is our plan going to be? She is here now, so we need to explain her presence somehow, and the truth is not a great option. Are we going to tell Lisa, because if so, she really should be here for this,” Jens said.

“No, I want to tell Lisa, but the timing is not right. I haven’t told her about my indiscretion, and calling her down here to meet Michaela would be cruel right now. I don’t want to blindside her,” I replied.

“Ok, well that narrows down the options. I called the club and there is an opening in the social media department. They would be willing to accommodate your school schedule if you wanted to keep up your studies. It would be an internship, but you would be able split your time between München and Braunschweig, Mondays through Thursdays there, Fridays through Sundays here. There would be an apartment that you would have access to not far from Thomas and Lisa’s house, and in lieu of salary all of your expenses would be paid. Does this sound like a reasonable cover story?” Jens asked.

“How is all of that possible?” Michaela asked.

“The apartment is owned by my firm, the expenses would be paid by Thomas through an intermediary. I know it sounds too good to be true, but this is what I am paid for. Thomas has made it clear that he wants you here while this is all figured out, and if you intend to keep the baby we need to be able to keep an eye on you. This gives us a way of doing that without causing unnecessary scandal. Do you intend to keep the baby?” Jens asked.

“I don’t know yet. I was going to discuss that with Thomas,” Michaela replied.

“Do you value his opinion on this matter so highly?” Jens asked.

“Well yes. He was thought to be sterile, so this may be the only chance he will have to father a child. It would be selfish of me not to take that into account when making my decision. We really should talk about that,” Michaela told me.

“Does that mean you are going to accept the offer and split your time for the duration of the situation?” Jens asked.

“Yes. I don’t think I can do this on my own and even though this is the weirdest solution we could have come up with, I think it makes sense,” Michaela agreed.

“Great, I will have my secretary draw up the paperwork,” Jens replied, leaving the room.

I was suddenly very aware that Michaela and I were alone. We sat in silence for a moment before she asked, “So how are you doing with all of this?”

“Better than expected. How are you doing?” I asked her.

“I have to admit, now that I am here and we have a plan, I feel better. Less freaked for sure,” she replied.

“Good to hear. So do you want to keep it? I know you said you that you were going to take what I wanted into account, but I want to know what you want to do. Do you want this baby?” I asked her.

“Yes, I think so. I mean as much as a single 23 year old wants a baby. But I do still want to take your opinion into account,” Michaela told me.

“I think you are one of the most selfless people I have ever met,” I replied.

“That is not the opinion I was talking about,” Michaela chastised me.

“I know. But honestly, I am not sure yet myself. I have a wife, and other things to consider. How about I let you know?” I asked her.

“That sounds ok. How much longer do we have to be here? It has been a very long day for me and I am kind of exhausted,” she said.

“Let me go talk to Jens,” I replied. As I was walking toward reception I was once again struck by the feeling that I was more attached to her than I should be.


	6. Results

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the Germany National Team, Bayern Munich, or Thomas Müller. This is just fiction.

Michaela’s POV

I have been working for Bayern Munich for almost a month now, and I have to say I love it. I have been arranging photo shoots, and working on the marketing campaign for the new season. The best part has been that I get to travel with the team for matches and sit behind the bench.

The guys on the team have all been so nice to me. None of them know what I am actually doing there, or even that I am pregnant of course, but Manu and Bastian remembered me from the celebration night. They took it upon themselves to introduce me to the team and tell them all that if you get me drunk enough I will do just about anything you dare me to do. Luckily they don’t seem to remember that I kissed Thomas that night in the bar, but they do remember earlier in the night when I did a handstand and proceeded to sing I’m a Little Teapot while upside down because Kroos dared me to. My nickname is now Teekanne, but that is better than what it could be if any of them knew about Thomas and I. It also makes it hard to explain why I don’t drink anymore, because Jens, Thomas and I have decided not to tell anyone that I am pregnant yet. I haven’t even been able to tell Anna yet.

Thomas seems to be having a hard time keeping things professional. His protective nature seems to get the better of him sometimes. The first time he heard one of his teammates calling me teapot, I thought he was going to try to punch him. Luckily I was able to get in between them in time, but it was a little hard to explain.

I know it has been especially hard on him that he can’t go to any of the doctor’s appointments. Jens has been taking me to all of them, and it got to the point where we stopped telling Thomas that is where we were going, because it broke my heart to see the look on his face when we left. I wish Jens trusted me more and that the appointment I was on my way to was not necessary, but I do understand that he gets paid to protect Thomas from things like this.

The appointment today changes everything though. We are getting the results of the paternity test in less than an hour. Thomas was very angry that he wasn’t allowed to come to this appointment, but Jens was very firm about it. “So far, this has been completely under the radar. You can go to the next appointment if it is yours. But on Friday, you are staying here and training for the match on Sunday,” Jens told him after the teams physician was done drawing the blood for the paternity test earlier in the week.

I wish Thomas was here today. Jens picked me up straight from the train station because he thought Thomas might try to come with us if we left from the stadium. But I knew today would be both wonderful and terrible for Thomas. He was going to find out that the baby was his. And then he was going to have to tell his wife, the woman that he loves, that he got someone else pregnant.

Because that is what he decided. This was probably going to be his only child, so if I wanted to keep it he would be around. But he didn’t want to tell Lisa until it was confirmed that it was his. I had no doubt that he believed me when I said it was his, but I don’t think he knew how to break his wife’s heart. I think he was hoping he might not have to.

I let Jens open the envelope. I knew what it was going to say, so it didn’t matter to me. He opened it, took one look at what it said and let out the biggest sigh before saying, “I was really hoping for a different answer.”

He then turned and walked into the hall to let Thomas know and make arrangements.

Thomas’ POV

I am a nervous wreck. I can’t check my phone while I am on the pitch, but I know that today is the day I am going to get the news. I don’t even know what time Michaela is getting in, but I keep hoping that every break will be the break where I have the message. The big message that tells me that either I am a father or not.

That I am going to lose either Michaela or Lisa. My feelings are conflicted about this. I love Lisa. I never dreamed I could hurt her at all, let alone like this. But I don’t think she will stand by me through this. I know it broke her heart when she found out that I couldn’t have kids and things were touch and go for a while after that. But we got past it. Things were even good again for a while, but this is probably going end my marriage. I still have no idea how to feel about that, but if Michaela is having my baby, I have to be there for her.

I also don’t want to lose Michaela. I have known her for less than a month, but she feels like a huge part of my life already. I feel like I can talk to her in a way that I haven’t been able to talk to Lisa in a long time. She listens to me, she laughs at my jokes, and she is always so happy, always smiling. She is quickly becoming one of my best friends, and the thought of losing her because she has been lying to me this whole time is not something I can even fathom right now.

Pep calls a water break and I run to my bag and pull out my phone as fast as I can. I can feel the phone slipping out of my hand before I can even absorb the words on the screen: _It is yours._


	7. Mia San Mia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I am trying a little German again. The translation will follow in italics.  
> Disclaimer: This is just fiction. I do not own Thomas Müller, or any of the other members of the German National Team or Bayern Munich.

Michaela’s POV

Thomas is told Lisa last night, and I am trying really hard not let it distract me from my work, but he has not let me know how it went. He has barely met my gaze all day, and his shoulders are down in defeat. I want to ask him, but he is being professional today, and I want to respect that he needs space. I have no idea what happened last night, but it looks like he barely slept, and I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t worried about him.

I have all the boys at a photo shoot today, and all of them together can be a handful under the best of circumstances. We just need one good shot of them in the new kit, but half the guys are unfocused, and the other half are annoyed that it is taking so long. We almost had the perfect shot, when Götze lost his balance and bumped into Bastian, who knocked Manu over.

It looked like things were going to get heated, so before Manu could even get up, I called out, “Ok, Fünf Minuten, aber ich brauche Manu, Basti, und Götze hier Bitte.” _Ok, five minutes, but I need Manu, Basti, and Götze here please._

“Michaela,” they all started to protest.

“Jetzt,” I called. _Now._

It was a little funny to see them all jump up and run over as fast as they could without tripping over each other. “What’s up?” Manu asked when they got over to me.

“I need your help. We just need one shot, but you guys can’t focus long enough to get it. Any ideas?” I asked.

“Water guns?” Mario asked.

“No, the water would wreak havoc on hair and makeup, plus wet kits don’t look good on camera. What else?” I asked.

“Puppies?” Bastian suggested.

“Do you know where we can get puppies in the next four and a half minutes?” I asked.

“No, but I wanted to just once do a shoot with puppies,” Bastian replied.

“Good idea, but not feasible. Come on, anything else? Manu, do you have any ideas?” I asked.

“Is there a jersey in your size?” He asked me.

“Yeah, Pep had one made for me for the games, and it was delivered here with the rest of the kits. Why?” I responded.

“I have an idea, go put it on,” Manu replied with an uncharacteristic twinkle in his eye.

I was walking back from the bathroom, when I heard sniffling and someone breathing like they were trying to hold back tears. I followed the sound and discovered Thomas around the corner, sitting on the ground, his head buried in his knees. “Thomas?” I asked cautiously from the corner, in case he didn’t want me to intrude on an obviously private moment.

“She left me,” he replied his voice breaking. He looked up and I saw tears streaming down his face. “I told her about you, and she said that it was the last straw. I was always gone for work, and that she had fallen out of love with me while I was gone. That there is even someone else for her, too. I love her so much, how did it get this bad so quickly? She is my family. How could she forget that she promised to work with me through good times and bad for the rest of our lives?”

“Thomas, look at me,” I ordered, kneeling down next to him. “I know this hurts, and I know that this does not really compare, but you are not alone. We will be here for you as long as you will have us. Not just me and the baby of yours I am carrying, but the team, too. Don’t forget that. There is a room of guys who will stand with you and for you as long as you need them to. This place is full of your family,” I told him, pulling him into a tight hug. I was crying too at this point, so I dried my eyes, and said to him, “Now, we have a job to do, so let’s get it done so we can go somewhere and figure out what happens next. Not the sometime in 7 months next, but the today next. Sound good?”

He nodded, and wiped his eyes, letting me help him up. “Do I look happy?” he asked with a huge smile on his face.

“Almost, come here and close your eyes,” I replied, motioning him closer. He leaned over and I gently wiped the tears from his lashes, unsticking them from each other. He opened his eyes and smiled again. “There it is. Now, let’s do this. Deep breath and into the fray,” I joked.

I was rewarded by a real laugh as we rounded the corner. I stepped away from him reluctantly as I called out to the men clumped around the room, “Ok, breaks over, back to work,” I called.

“You look great, follow my lead,” Manu said under his breath as he walked past me back to the set. “Why did you change into our kit, Michaela? Want to rub it in our faces that we can’t take a decent picture for you?” he asked loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Well, I figured you guys needed a reminder that I am part of this team, too. You seem to think that I am just here to tell you guys what to do. That is not true. I committed to this club, and it is my job to make you guys look as good as you possibly can. I am willing to wait as long as it takes, do whatever I need to do to make that happen. Plus, someone had to make the kit look good. You guys are just standing around, and I need energy. I thought maybe seeing me in your colors might be the shot of adrenaline that you guys need. Mia san Mia, we are who we are. And I am one of you now, so let’s get this done so we can all get out of here and enjoy the rest of the day,” I replied.

“Mia san Mia,” Bastian repeated.

One by one they all took their places and it was like I was looking at a different team than the one from before the break. Within five minutes we had more shots than we needed and the camera man was ready to call it a wrap and asked me if we wanted to try anything else or call it.

I was about to call it when I felt an arm wrap around my waist and drag me back toward the group. “Not so fast, Michaela. If you are one of us, we are getting a couple of shots with you, too,” Manu told me, and several other guys nodded agreement.

“Fine. Fabian, we will need a few more,” I told the camera man.

Ten minutes later I was finally calling the photo shoot. “Ok, that is a wrap, let’s get out of-” I stared to say, but cut off when the world started to swim in front of my vision a little. I grabbed onto the nearest thing I could, which turned out to be Bastian.

He steadied me and asked with a concerned look on his face, “Are you ok?”

“No, I think I am going to faint,” I managed to get out before my world tuned black.

Thomas’ POV

The shoot was wrapping up, and Michaela was calling it, when she suddenly stopped talking mid-sentence. I looked over to see her leaning on Bastian, who was asking her a question as he tried to steady her. I see her respond before her eyes roll back into her head and she goes limp.

“Michaela!” I called as I ran over. I helped Bastian lower her to the floor gently as Manu started ordering people to back up. I took her hand as the set medic rushed over when he saw what was happening, and checked to see if she was breathing, then pulled back her eyelids and shone a light in them.

He told Bastian to call an ambulance, and asked if there was any known condition or allergies that he should know about. “She is pregnant,” I replied softly.

“Are you sure?” he asked me.

“Yes,” I replied.

“We should call the father, have him meet us at the hospital,” the medic said as he pulled a blood pressure cuff and stethoscope out of his bag.

“He is already here,” I told him.

“What do you mean?” The medic asked me.

“I am the father,” I said simply, ignoring the murmur that went through the group huddled around us.


	8. Just Wake Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own Thomas Müller, the German National Team or Bayern Munich. This is just fiction.

Thomas’ POV

I am pacing the waiting room like a caged animal. It feels like it has been days, when it has really been less than two hours since she fainted. Jens called her uncle, who is on his way from Braunschweig, but as far as I know she has not woken up and the doctors won’t tell us anything anyway because we are not family.

Manu and Bastian drove me over here when the paramedics wouldn’t let me ride in the ambulance and now sit in chairs watching me like I am going to break down any minute. Not that I can blame them. I feel like I am a hairs breath away from punching something and/or bursting into tears.

Finally Manu can’t take it anymore and stands up. He moves into my path and put his hands up in a sign of surrender at the look I give him. “Thomas, you need to sit down. You are really stressed out right now and you need to relax. You need to be calm because when she wakes up, she will need you,” he reasoned with me.

“Fine,” I sighed, letting him herd me toward the chairs.

We sat in silence for a minute before Bastian blurted out, “So, you are going to be a dad. How did that happen?”

“Erik dared her to kiss me that night in the bar,” I replied.

“That must have been some kiss,” Manu replied.

“The sad part is, both of us were so drunk, neither of us even remember the kiss, or what obviously followed,” I chuckled.

“You are kidding,” Bastian laughed.

“No. The last thing I remember from that night is the shot we all did after she sang I’m a Little Teapot, and the last thing she remembers is being dared to kiss me, but not the kiss its self. After that, we don’t remember anything until the hotel room the next morning,” I replied.

“And you are sure it is yours?” Manu asked.

“Yes. I was sure from the beginning, but Jens recommended a paternity test and we got the results yesterday. It is definitely mine,” I replied.

“What did Lisa say?” Bastian asked.

“She left me,” I answered simply.

“She didn’t,” Manu said.

“She did. She said I have been distant and distracted lately with all of my commitments, and I am never around anyway, so this was the last straw. She said there was someone else for her too. They hadn’t acted on anything, but she cares for him the way she used to care for me. Add in the fact that I wasn’t supposed to be able to have kids at all, and it was just too much for her,” I trailed off.

“What do you mean? Obviously you can have kids,” Manu pointed out.

“Lisa and I were trying to have kids for a while, and when it wasn’t happening, we went to a specialist who declared me sterile. It was tough news, and it almost destroyed us, Lisa and I took some time apart after that. But when we came back, we decided we are still young, and that there were options if we decided one day that we couldn’t live without kids. When Michaela told me that she was pregnant, I was so scared that she was not going to go through with the pregnancy. But she always manages to surprise me. Do you know what she asked me when I asked her if she was going to keep it?” I asked.

“What?” Bastian questioned.

“She asked me what I wanted to do. I thought she was just looking for an easy way out, but she wanted to take my feelings into consideration when she made her decision. She said that it might be my only chance to be a father and that it would be selfish of her not to consider that. Can you believe that?” I asked.

“She certainly is something else,” Bastian agreed.

“Mr. Müller?” a doctor asked as he came into the waiting room.

“Yes, that is me,” I replied getting up and walking over to him. “Is she ok? What about the baby?”

“I am Dr. Heinrich, Michaela’s doctor. She was very anemic when she came in. Not uncommon for the first trimester of a pregnancy, and the baby is ok, but she has not regained consciousness yet. We hope that once her iron levels have gone back up she will wake up,” he told me.

“Doctor, I have a question,” Manu said. “About ten minutes before she fainted I grabbed her around the stomach, not hard, but I had no idea she was pregnant. Could that have caused her to faint?”

“Probably not. If she had fainted right away, or if she were not anemic, I might say yes, but this had more to do with the facts of pregnancy. Fainting is common in the first trimester, as is anemia. Michaela’s body is changing rapidly right now, and it is trying to get used to all of the changes at once. But she is fine and the baby is fine. Any other questions?” Dr. Heinrich asked.

“When can I see her?” I asked.

“Now if you’d like. Your friends will have to wait out here, we don’t want to overwhelm her, but I can take you back if you’d like,” Dr. Heinrich offered.

I looked at the guys to make sure it was ok, and Manu said, “Oh, go on. Just tell her we say hi and that she has to wake up. We will be here when you are done.”

“Thank you,” I told him before turning back to the doctor and saying, “Let’s go.”

She looked so small and fragile lying on the bed hooked up to all sorts of machines. The steady beeping was a comfort, but it also scared me. I pulled a chair over to the bed and sat down grabbing her hand.

“Hi Michaela,” I started. “You scared the entire team today. Plus that was not how I imagined telling the team that I was going to be a father.

“Speaking of the team , Manu and Bastian say hi and that they want you to wake up. They are in the waiting room right now, I was telling them about all of this while we were waiting. They think it is hilarious that you are having my child, but neither of us can even remember kissing each other.

“I am rambling, but you have to wake up. We have to talk about things, and I can’t talk about them with anyone else. And I know you are going to have an opinion, but I don’t know what it will be. Like the fact that I am putting my foot down and you are moving in with me, or maybe since you have the apartment and I have a house that my wife is probably going want to keep, I will move in with you.

“The point is you are not leaving my sight until this baby arrives. I wasn’t sure that I believed you when you said we are family until I saw you faint. Because I have never wanted anything more than I want you to wake up right now. We don’t have to date if you don’t want to, but you are the most important person in my life right now, and I want to try to make this work. Not because my marriage is failing, or because you are carrying my child, but because you are the most incredible woman I have ever met. You are funny and charming, selfless and generous.

“I have only known you for a couple of months, but I need you in my life. So listen to my voice and wake up. I need you to wake up. I know you are altruistic enough that if I say I need something, you will do anything in your power to make it happen. So please. For me. Just wake up,” I finished, tears running freely down my face. I brought her hand to my lips and gave into the sobbing.

I was so wrapped up that I almost missed when she lightly squeezed my hand back. I looked up at her face, afraid that I had imagined it. “Michaela?”

Her eyes fluttered open and she said in a weak voice, “Don’t worry, you dork, you aren’t getting rid me that easy. But I don’t think Pep is going to like you splitting your time between München and Braunschweig. I am not quitting school unless the doctor tells me I have to.”

I was so relieved that I actually laughed as I responded, “We will figure something out.”


	9. What Are We Doing?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own Thomas Müller, the German National Team, or Bayern Munich

Michaelas’ POV

“Looking in your cupboards, I am beginning to understand how it is possible for you to have become anemic,” Thomas called from my kitchen. It has been a month since I was released from the hospital and Thomas is staying with me in Branuschweig for a couple of rare mid-week off days from training.

“What is wrong with my cupboards?” I asked, coming into the kitchen.

“There is no meat in your house, which is very unusual. Lots of _Pfifferlinge_ and potatoes, though,” he commented.

“I buy my meat fresh from the butcher when I want to make meat. And please tell me you don’t store meat in your cupboards, because if you do I may have to rethink the moving in together thing, if only to save you from severe food poisoning. And for the record, _Pfifferlinge_ are delicious, and the season is officially over, but I happened to find some fresh at the store, so I wanted to make you this dish I saw in a restaurant once, you bake a potato, stuff it with _Pfifferlinge_ in a cream sauce and cover it with cheese. It is amazing,” I replied.

“That might be another problem. You tend to order vegetarian options at restaurants. Which is a great accomplishment, because there are not many non-meat options in German restaurants. We put _Speck_ in everything. And you have ten potatoes here. How much do you think I can eat?” he asked.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love bacon as much as the next girl, I just don’t need it with every meal. And we are having guests tonight. Onkel Josef and Tante Sabine are coming, and Anna wanted to meet you again and since this is the first time you have come up here since I told her I was pregnant, she insisted on coming over and she always seems to show up with a guy when I least expect it, so that is at least 6 potatoes, plus whatever we don’t eat tonight I can eat for the next couple of days. I have done this before, they are even better the second day because the cream sauce has absorbed a little into the potato, and it is just the right balance between creamy and savory,” I replied.

“You have a very weird relationship with food, Michaela. And were you going to tell me that we were having guests for dinner before they actually showed up?” Thomas questioned.

“Yeah, of course I was. And liking good food does not constitute a weird relationship with food,” I answered.

“I have never met someone so thin who loves food the way you do. If you find something you like you are content to eat it for every meal for a week. It is kind of cute actually. And what time are they showing up exactly?” Thomas asked me.

“18 o’clock. And I thank my truly fantastic metabolism for my figure, but I should warn you, one day it will fail me and I will balloon to an ungodly weight. You probably won’t find my horribly unbalanced diet so cute then,” I told him.

“Well it is 15 now, so you were going to tell me sometime in the next three hours? And I already signed on for you gaining weight, remember? You are carrying my child,” Thomas reminded me.

“Yes, but I am hoping that this weight gain will be temporary. Plus, this is all moving so fast. I am still waiting for you to reach your breaking point and just walk out. We aren’t even really dating. We banter, and yes, I am carrying your child, but we don’t kiss, and you are legally married to someone else. This is the weirdest relationship I have ever been in. And I was going to tell you when I started to make dinner in an hour, because I knew you would probably have a fit when I started pulling out pots and pans,” I replied, not wanting to start a fight, but unable to stop the words from coming out of my mouth with more passion than I intended, my voice rising steadily to the end.

“I already told you that I am in your life as long as you will have me. You are giving me a gift I never thought I would be getting. What more can I ask of you? I thought I was giving you space to figure this out, but if you want to date, I am on board. I think would love to kiss you. You challenge me in a way that I never want to give up. And maybe if you could accomplish simple tasks without injuring yourself I would trust you near fire,” he responded, his own voice rising.

“I can handle cooking a meal without you hovering. And if you would love to kiss me, than why haven’t you done it yet? You have barely left me alone for a month, but have yet to make a move,” I shouted.

“You have yet to prove that you don’t need supervision in the kitchen. And honestly, I have no idea why I haven’t kissed you yet,” Thomas replied, his chest heaving. We both seemed to realize at the same time that we had gotten very close to each other, and before I could reconcile his proximity, he was crushing his lips to mine, his hands cupping my face.

It was as though my entire body had caught fire. My head was swimming and I had lost all of my wits. All I was aware of was where I came into contact with Thomas and nothing else. Nothing else seemed to matter. And then his tongue brushed my lips, and I was so overwhelmed that my knees actually gave out and Thomas had to catch me.

“Are you ok?” Thomas asked with a chuckle as he steadied me, and sat us down on the bench in the breakfast nook.

“I don’t think I have ever been better. You?” I asked him.

“Same,” he replied, moving in to kiss me again. It was gentle this time, deliberate and slow. I could tell he was trying to be careful with me, and I let him because I knew if we got too carried away we might not be able to stop when the time came. It is weird to worry about moving too fast with someone who had knocked you up, but I kind of wanted to take things slow with Thomas.

After a minute he pulled away and rested his forehead on mine. “I am beginning to understand how one kiss lead to what happened that night in the hotel room,” he chuckled.

“So, what does this mean for us? Because I know it is weird to want to go slow with someone you are already having a child with, but I am really not a sex on the first date kind of girl,” I told him pulling away so I could look him in the eye.

“We can go at whatever speed you want. I promise. I am old fashioned as well. I think that is why it took us a month to have our first real kiss,” Thomas assured me, tucking a stray bit of hair behind my ear.

“Well, good. I am glad. So, what happens next?” I asked.

“Well, tonight I help you with this dinner, and when we get back to München I will take you on a proper date. How does that sound?” he asked me.

“That sounds great,” I replied, unable to stop a silly grin from spreading across my face.

“You are just so cute, do you know that?” he asked me, leaning in to kiss me before I could respond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: There we have it. Obviously it is not the first time they have kissed, but they don’t remember the real first kiss, so this is like a do-over. Let me know what you think!


	10. Does it Really Count as a First Date if the Guy Has Already Knocked You Up?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Thomas Müller, the German National Team or Bayern Munich

Michaela’s POV

“Anna, I need your help,” I spoke into the phone while staring into my open closet.

“Any help that can be given over the phone is yours,” Anna replied.

“What do you wear on a first date with the guy whose child you are having?” I asked.

“You know, I’m not going to lie to you babe, never had to deal with that particular wardrobe crisis,” Anna replied with a chuckle.

“Please stop laughing at me and actually help me, or I am giving the guy who sits behind you in Econ your number and telling him you are just shy,” I responded.

“Whoa, zero to freak out in no time flat. Ok, we are in a no joke zone. Um, where is he taking you?” Anna asked.

“No clue. He said it is a surprise, but that I should wear something that I am comfortable in. Normally that isn’t a problem, but none of my jeans fit right now, and I don’t think sweatpants are a viable option,” I answered.

“Oh god, I have completely failed you if you think that it is ok to wear jeans on a first date that does not involve being outside. What about your sundresses, those still fit you, right? Wear one of those,” she replied.

“Do you have any idea what the temperature outside is? If I wear a sundress at night in the middle of October in München I will literally freeze to death. Plus, Thomas is so protective since the whole anemia thing that there is no way he would let me out of the building without changing into something warmer. You literally know my entire wardrobe, I have to have something that I am missing that is perfect,” I told her.

“You are really freaking out about this. You need to calm down,” Anna ordered.

“I don’t think I can. I want this to go perfectly so bad, I know it is irrational, but I feel like if I mess anything up he will walk out the door and I will be left to raise this kid by myself and I don’t think I can do that. I had this stupid dream last night that I wore the wrong thing and when I opened the door Thomas took one look at me and said he was going back to Lisa, I wasn’t good enough for him and it really freaked me out. I am not good enough to date the best footballer on the planet,” I said, starting to hyperventilate.

“Of course you are. You are just hormonal and freaking out a little bit. Take a couple of deep breaths, can you do that for me?” Anna asked.

“No, I don’t think I can,” I replied, starting to cry.

“Oh, sweetie, it is ok, this is just the baby. You are gorgeous, and smart and I just saw you two days ago and you looked fantastic, so unless you gained 20 pounds since then you have got this. Is any of this helping or do you just need a hug?” Anna asked.

“I definitely need a hug. Can you get here in the next five minutes and give me one?” I sobbed.

“No, it is almost 600 kilometers to you. Um, what can I do over the phone?” she mused. “Ok, sit down on the floor and put your head between your legs, I will call you back in a minute,” Anna said.

“No, wait,” I started, but the line was already dead, so I sat on my floor and did as she told me.

Thomas’ POV

I was in my kitchen when my cell phone rang. I grabbed it from the counter and answered it without looking at the caller ID, “Thomas.”

“You need to get next door. Michaela is having a panic attack because she can’t figure out what to wear and she thinks that she is fat and that you are going to leave her for your ex, and long story short, she is very hormonal tonight, but she is hyperventilating and crying and I told her to sit down and put her head between her knees, but I don’t know if she actually did it, and I am too far away to get over there, so this one is all you, I think she just needs a hug,” a female voice rushed out in one breath.

“Anna? Is that you?” I asked.

“Yes, are you next door yet, she needs you, did you listen to anything I just said? She is sobbing and hyperventilating on the floor of her closet. And it is your fault, so you need to go over there and calm her down,” Anna ordered.

I hung up the phone as I ran for the front door, grabbing my keys from the hook as I opened it. I heard my door shut behind me as ran the few feet down the hall to Michaela’s door. I used my key and as soon as the door had shut behind me I called out, “Michaela?”

I heard muffled sobbing coming from the bedroom, so I ran toward the noise. I knocked on the closed door and said, “Michaela, Anna just called me. I am coming in.”

I didn’t hear any protest, so I opened the door and saw her sitting on the floor with her head between her knees. She was indeed crying and hyperventilating, and my heart broke a little at the sound as I walked over to wrap my arms around her.

She stiffened a little bit when I first touched her, but she relaxed a little when I wrapped my arms around her. We sat that way for a few minutes, me just holding her and whispering reassurances as she slowly calmed down. She stopped crying and then her breathing gradually returned to normal. “Would it help to talk about it, little one?” I asked her, using the other nickname the team had given her.

“I don’t know what happened honestly. I was fine, and then I was hyperventilating, and then I was crying and I couldn’t stop any of it. I know it is just baby hormones, but I can’t stop thinking of ways this could all come crashing down on me, and that coupled with the fact that I have not been on a first date in a long time… I don’t know. I guess I just freaked out a little bit. Honestly, I started to calm down the second I smelled you, but I am still not confident that this isn’t some amazing dream that I am going to wake up from any second. I mean you are married for crying out loud,” Michaela said, tears welling up in her eyes again as she said this.

“Well, funny you should mention that. I was saving this for dinner, but I think you might need it now,” I said reaching into my back pocket and handing her the card I had put there.

“Albrecht Rode, divorce attorney?” she asked.

“I filed the papers this morning, Lisa should have them by now. It is sad to close that chapter of my life, but Lisa and I have grown apart, she is no longer the woman I married. And I am no longer the man she married. She is officially my past. Jens is going to make the announcement tomorrow that Lisa and I have split up. I am officially yours,” I told her.

“Mine. I like the sound of that. And it goes both ways, you know that right? That I am yours?” she asked me.

“I had hoped so, but it feels good to hear,” I replied. We sat there for a minute in silence, when something she had said came back to me. “You started to calm down when you smelled me?”

She turned bright red as she stammered out, “Well, yeah, smell is a very powerful memory trigger, and you make me feel safe, so it makes sense that your smell would make me calm down.”

“You are so adorable, little one. And I am totally moving in here. Before you say anything, I will sleep on the couch if you want, and I will keep the place next door, but I do not want to get another call like that from Anna. I want to be closer, so when you need me, which will be a lot more often in the next several months, I will be here. Please?” I asked simply.

“Fine. And you don’t have to sleep on the couch. We can share a bed. We now share a life, so I guess it is only fair,” she responded.

“Good,” I replied, kissing her temple.

“So, you need to tell me where we are going, so I can pick something to wear, otherwise we are never going to get to dinner,” she told me.

“What you have on is perfect. You don’t even need to put on shoes, if you don’t want to,” I replied, looking at her long sleeved t-shirt and shorts worn over tights.

“What restaurant will let us in without shoes?” she asked.

“Well, I was going to surprise you, but I am cooking for you. You have cooked for me so many times, I thought I would repay the favor,” I trailed off as we started to hear beeping from next door.

“Please tell me that is not your fire alarm,” she said.

“I think it is,” I responded.

“Did you leave the oven on when you came over here to calm me down?” she asked me.

“I’ll be right back,” I told her, running back next door.

**

“I am never going to live this one down am I?” I asked her when she joined me in my kitchen five minutes later. Nothing had been on fire, but the garlic bread had charred beyond recognition in the broiler. The smoke had set off the alarm.

“Never,” she replied, wrapping her arms around me and settling into my side as I surveyed the damage. The pasta was one big lump, the sauce was burned to the bottom of the pan and even the salad was inedible because the bowl had been too close to the oven and had melted.

“How do you feel about pizza and a movie? I can probably bribe them to bring us some ice cream too,” he offered.

“Sound perfect. But maybe we could go to my place while yours airs out?” she asked.

“Deal. Do you want to make popcorn while I call the pizza place?” I asked.

“Absolutely. And just in case you were wondering? You could have set the kitchen on fire, and this still would have been one of the best first dates I have ever been on. Thank you for trying to cook for me,” she said, leaning up to peck me on the lips.

She tried to pull away, but I held her close and gave her a proper kiss. “You are welcome. And I refuse to believe that this is one of your best first dates,” I told her as I released her.

On her way out the door she said over her shoulder, “Make me tell you the story of the guy who wanted to pick-up a hitchhiker for a three-way on our first date sometime.”


	11. What Do You Mean You Don't Want To Know?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: This is just a work of fiction. I do not own anything associated with Thomas Müller, the German National Team, or Bayern Munich.

Michaela’s POV

It has been a week since our near disaster of a first date, and cohabitating with Thomas has been, like the rest of our relationship, almost easy. He had moved all of the things he needed over the next day, and because I was splitting my time here and another city, there was plenty of space for him. We showered separately in the mornings, and he was ever the gentleman at night. All we did was sleep and there was no pressure to do anything else. We fall asleep at night with his arms around me, one hand protectively covering my belly.

We hadn’t gone public about our relationship and quite frankly Jens was treating it like it was a miracle that we hadn’t been found out yet. There were more photographers around, which was frustrating Thomas a little. We had to make sure we left the pitch and the apartment separately, and he couldn’t even go to the grocery store without being photographed. I knew it was a drain on him, mentally and emotionally, but he never showed it. Anytime I asked him about it all he said was that he was glad that I didn’t have to deal with any of it yet.

But none of that was on my mind when I woke up this morning to Thomas’ impossibly blue eyes and a gentle kiss on the forehead. “Are you ready for today?” he asked.

“As long as you are still coming with me, I am definitely ready. Are you ready?” I asked him.

“Yes. I want to see our little miracle,” he replied, rubbing my belly.

“Do you want to shower first, or should I?” I asked.

“I’ll go first so you can get a little more sleep. Sound good?” he questioned.

“Always trying to get me to rest and take it easy. You take such good care of me,” I replied.

“I wouldn’t have to if you would act like a normal pregnant woman and kick back on the couch watching movies and eating ice cream,” he responded.

“Yes, but if I were one of those pregnant women, you wouldn’t like me as much. Admit it, you like that I keep you on your toes,” I teased.

“I would never incriminate myself that way. I will wake you when I get out of the shower,” he replied, giving me a peck on the lips before he got out of bed and made his way to the shower.

***

About 45 minutes later, I was stepping out of the bathroom after my own shower, when I smelled the most amazing thing. I got dressed quickly and headed out to the kitchen to find Thomas standing in front of the stove turning over bacon and sliding an omelet out of a pan onto the second of two plates.

“It smells amazing in here. Is this the real reason you wanted me to sleep in, so you could make breakfast? Because if it is half as good as it smells, it will completely make up for the last time you tried to cook for me,” I told him, leaning against the counter next to him.

“That was the idea,” he responded, leaning in to kiss me. “Guten Morgen,” he said as he broke away.

“Morgen. Do you need me to help with anything?” I asked.

“Nope. You are taking the morning off, so you are not allowed to work. Sit at the table, I will be right over with the food,” he ordered, placing the bacon on a towel to degrease.

“Yes sir,” I responded, taking my seat at the table.

**

Before I knew it we were at the Doctors office and Thomas was holding my hand while the doctor was squirting gel on my stomach.

“I apologize if it is a little cold, but let’s see what we can see, shall we,” the doctor said.

For a couple of seconds, we couldn’t see anything, but then we saw the baby at the same time we were able to hear the heartbeat. “There we go. Everything looks good. Proper size for a fetus at this developmental stage, ten fingers, ten toes. Do you want to know the sex?” the doctor asked.

“No,” I replied.

“No?” Thomas asked.

“You can tell Thomas if he wants to know, but I don’t. I don’t need to,” I replied.

“You know I can’t keep secrets, why would you give me this choice to make? Do you really not want to know?” Thomas asked me.

“Let me ask you this. Will knowing the sex change how you feel about this baby?” I asked him.

“No, of course not,” he responded.

“You live your whole life in public. You have kept me a secret this long, but I will be revealed sooner rather than later. If we don’t know, then this gets to be a secret and one that can’t be broken. You deserve to have one secret, one thing that can’t be leaked to the press. And if you want to know that is fine, it will be my gift to you. But if I don’t know, then I can’t tell,” I explained to him.

“Can you give us a minute, Dr. Kirsch?” Thomas asked.

“Of course,” the doctor replied, setting the ultrasound wand in a basin on the table and handing me a towel before leaving the room.

As soon as the doctor was out of the room Thomas turned to look at me. He grabbed my hands in his and said, “I want you to be 100% honest with me when I ask you this question. I don’t want you to be the annoyingly selfless girl that I know you to be, I don’t want any gifts. I want to know what you want. Because your answer will be my answer. Do you want to know the sex of this baby?”

“No. I want something that can be ours. I know it sounds like I am being selfless, but this is what I want. This relationship has been just ours for this long and that will be taken from us any day now. I want something that is just yours and mine, something that can’t be taken from us for at least the next 5 months. Tell me that that sounds like a bad thing,” I told him.

“Are you sure that you have never been famous before, because you are so much better at this than I have ever been,” he chuckled.

“What?” I asked.

“I have managed this situation terribly. I announce to the entire team that I am going to be a father at a photo shoot, I have you come here without establishing a reason for you being here, I visited you in the hospital and told them that I was the father of your baby, I stayed at your place in Braunschweig. The only reason this relationship has not gotten out is because you and Jens have been one step ahead of me. When this gets out, you will be fine. I will be an overprotective wreck, but you will be fine. So, final answer, you don’t want to know the sex of the baby?” he asked me.

“No, I don’t want to know. It seems romantic, somehow, doesn’t it? This is the way it has been done as long as there have been people. It goes with the whole old fashioned thing, right?” I asked him.

“Yeah, I suppose you are right. Ok, let me get the doctor back in here,” he responded, kissing me on the forehead.

**

When we were done at the Doctors office, we headed over to the pitch in separate cars. By the time I arrived I knew Thomas would already be out on the pitch and I had a meeting with the publicity department, so I made my way downstairs toward the offices.

I was halfway there when I got intercepted by the department head. “You and I are going out to the pitch for a moment before the meeting. I want your opinion on something,” Matthias said, leading me back the way I had come.

“I will admit, when I was instructed that I had a new intern I had my doubts. And a foreigner at that? I did not have high hopes for you. And then I found out about your situation. I expected you to be lazy, uninspired, and because of how you had come across this position, I expected you to be unappreciative.

“I am not telling you this because I was right. I am telling you this because I was very wrong. You look out at the men on this pitch,” he said gesturing to the field stretched before us where Pep was having the guys run drills. “And you see all of the best things about them as individuals and as a whole, and you not only expect that of them, but you bring it out of them, almost effortlessly. I can use someone like that on my team permanently. I know you don’t graduate for another couple of months, and even then, you will need to take some time off very shortly after that, but I am letting you know that you have a job here if you want it, whenever you want it. I don’t want you to answer right away, and if you decide not to accept, you can always count on me for a good reference,” he told me.

“Thank you so much. I will think this over and get back to you next week,” I replied, reaching out to shake his hand.

“Fine, take your time,” Matthias said, turning to survey the pitch. As we were watching Thomas broke away and scored a goal. “He really is something else, isn’t he? Makes our job easy.”

“That he does. Personality, looks, and skill all in one neat package? It is almost unfair to the other teams,” I joked. Suddenly I felt a nudge from inside my stomach. I let out a sudden surprised gasp and grabbed my stomach.

“What?” Matthias asked with concern, placing a hand on my shoulder.

“The baby just kicked. Here,” I laughed, grabbing his hand and putting it on my stomach.

“I felt it. Is this the first time?” he asked me.

“Yes,” I replied, practically giddy with happiness. I scanned the pitch looking for Thomas, who was already on his way over.

“Are you ok?” Thomas asked when he reached us.

“The baby just kicked, give me your hand,” I ordered, taking the hand he held out to me.

“Wow. I can feel it,” he said in an awed voice. “It doesn’t hurt, does it?”

“No, you overprotective weirdo, it doesn’t hurt. This is all us, we did this,” I told him.

“All us,” he agreed, leaning down to give me a kiss. Before I could stop him, our lips met for the briefest of seconds. I pulled away, but I knew the damage was probably already done.

I looked at Matthias, who was already scanning the area. “Any chance that went unnoticed?” I asked him.

“No, there are photographers all over the place. What were you thinking Thomas? You just blew 4 months’ worth of careful cover. This is going to be all over the place in the next half hour. I have to steal your girlfriend, because we now have go into damage control mode, you need to call Jens and give him a heads up. Tell him that the cover is blown. I will deal with Pep, just get inside both of you,” Matthias ordered.

“Come on, Thomas,” I said, walking back inside.

I wasn’t sure he was following me until he stopped me right before I passed the locker room door by grabbing my hand. “I am so sorry, Michaela. I don’t know what I was thinking, I was just so happy about the baby kicking, and I forgot where we were. Are you mad?” he asked me.

“No, I am not mad. And the PR team is ready for this, we have been since I got out of the hospital, we honestly thought we were going to have to deal with this a lot sooner. I just have to get to work now, and you have to call Jens. It is like you said before. I am good at all of this, and I am good at it because it is my job. We will need you in about 15 to 20 minutes, be ready, we need to know how much of the story we are going to tell,” I said.

“Ok,” he replied still looking unsure.

“Hey, relax, it will be ok, honestly,” I replied, reaching up to kiss him, before pulling away to walk down the hall. “Phone Jens,” I called over my shoulder as I turned around the corner.


	12. Congratulations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing associated with Thomas Müller, Bayern Munich or the German National Team.

Michaela’s POV

I am graduating today. I am sitting in an uncomfortable chair, in an itchy gown, trying not to fall asleep listening to the boring speaker talk about our bright futures, but all I can think about is the fact that Thomas is not here yet. He left my flat this morning saying he had an appointment, and that he would be at the ceremony in plenty of time, but before we walked out I got a text from him saying he was running late, but he would definitely get here before I walked across the stage. Anna, Onkel Josef, and Tante Sabine are saving him a seat, and I could tell he hadn’t snuck in the back, because there were about a million paparazzi outside, and none of them had been taking pictures when people snuck in late.

It has been two months, but Thomas and I are still novel enough that we get our pictures taken any time we leave the house. We did our best at the press conference to dissuade some of the frenzy, but a footballer cheating on his wife, getting someone else pregnant, and having that break up his marriage is a fantastic story and every media outlet wanted an exclusive.

I knew we were in trouble during the press conference when they started to ask about Lisa. There were very few things on the off limits list, but she was one of them. Thomas was doing his best to deflect them, but they kept asking about how she was doing, and what she felt about this situation. I knew this was the only first impression they were going to get of me, and I decided very quickly that I was not going to let myself be pushed around by them. If they were trying to see how much I would give them before enforcing the boundaries set ahead of time, I had to prove a point. There is no point in providing a list of topics that cannot be discussed if you are just going to talk about whatever they want.

So after the third Lisa question in a row, I finally spoke. “I am aware that Lisa is a big part of this story for you, and she is the missing piece here for you guys, but I have never met the woman. I am sure she will come forward when she is ready and tell her side of the story, but out of respect for a woman who just had her whole life changed by one mistake that her soon to be former husband made we are not going to answer any questions about Lisa. It is not fair to her and I would like to hope that she would afford us the same courtesy. If we get any more questions about her, this press conference will be over and you will have to rely on the official statement we will release through our management team. Now, are there any other questions?” I asked.

There were very few questions after that, and I was worried that I had over stepped and maybe wasn’t as ready for this as Matthias and Jens thought. Matthias must have seen the worry on my face after the press conference was over, because as soon as we sat down for the meeting wrap-up he said, “I am just going to come out and say it. That went as smoothly as it possibly could have. I am very impressed with both of you. Thomas was not too overprotective and let Michaela answer enough questions that the press was able to get a feel for who she is, and Michaela saved the day by defusing the Lisa situation we almost had out there.”

“I didn’t derail the whole thing? I wasn’t too forceful out there?” I asked.

“No, it was perfect. The woman they got to see was funny and charming, but also composed and classy enough to not talk about someone they have hurt behind their back. They now know that when a guideline is established you will stick to it, and if they try to push the limits to get the story at all costs, you will push them right back into place. You were firm, but not aggressive, and proved that you will give them want they want only if they abide by the agreed upon terms. I don’t think I could have done better myself,” Jens said.

I am broken out of my daydream when the row in front of us gets up to walk to the stage. I take the opportunity to glance around one more time for Thomas, just in case he was able to sneak in without causing a huge commotion. My heart sinks when I don’t see him. Onkel Josef waves when he sees me looking, and shakes his head when I motion to the empty seat next to Tante Sabine.

I am disappointed, but then it is time for me to get up, so I follow my row to the side of the stage. I am so distracted that I almost miss him. As I am walking across the stage to get my diploma, I see him standing in the wings, holding a sign that reads, ‘Congratulations on becoming a Master of Business Communication. I am so proud of you.’ I am suddenly fighting tears of happiness as I grab the folder presented to me and move my tassel to the other side of my hat. He winks at me just before he is lost from view as I reach the end of the stage to return to my seat.

Soon the ceremony is over and I am being hugged by Anna, Onkel Josef, and Tante Sabine. “We are so proud of you, Michaela. I take it from the smile you had up there, your young man showed up after all?” Onkel Josef asked.

“Yes, he was backstage.  I have no idea how he got back there, but I have learned when Thomas wants to make something happen, he can make it happen,” I replied. Just then I felt my phone buzzing in my pocket under the robes.

I pull my phone out and see a text message from Thomas. “I have to sneak back out, but I will see you at the flat. Congratulations, little one.”

“I am so proud of my little master. You are done with school, have a hot footballer boyfriend, and are moving to München for a great job that will be waiting for you after you pop. Clearly all of my work is done,” Anna stated.

“I am going to miss you too, An. I will visit all the time and you have to come to München to visit, this little guy or gal in here is going to insist on plenty of visits from Tante Anna. Plus, who knows, I might still come back for my doctorate, and then you will be stuck with me again. How does that sound?” I asked.

“That sounds good. Not the moving back to Braunschweig for your doctorate, but the visits. You are totally going to get sick of me. I mean I am going to be around all the time,” Anna rambled.

“I love you too, Anna,” I said giving her a hug.

“So, are you ready to head back home? Thomas asked us if we could drive you back,” Tante Sabine said.

“Yeah, let’s go,” I agreed.

“Hey, can you give me a ride? I left my car at your place because I knew there would be better parking and took the Straßenbahn,” Anna said.

“Sure, no problem,” I replied.

We managed to duck out a side door and miss most of the photographers. After a quick pit stop to pick up a coffee at the coffee shop on the corner on Anna’s insistence we made it back to my flat.

“Do you want to come up for a moment Anna? We are going to look at the pictures with Thomas,” I offered as we pulled into a parking spot outside my flat.

“Sure, that sounds fun,” she replied, putting her phone in her pocket.

As we climbed the steps my Onkel was chatting about how so many doors had been opened to him by completing his Masters education. I was about to ask him a question as I opened the door, but I lost my train of thought as a chorus of “Surprise!” erupted from my apartment.

“Happy graduation, baby,” Thomas said from right behind the door, handing me a bunch of flowers.

“What is all this?” I asked, taking the flowers from him.

“Your graduation/going away party. Anna insisted and you know how she can be. You aren’t mad, are you?” Thomas asked, taking my hand.

“No, not mad, just a little surprised. Is this what you have been doing all morning?” I asked.

“Yes. Some of the guys from the team are here, and Anna invited your Uni friends. What do you think?” he asked, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

“I think it was a very bad idea to give Anna your number,” I replied.

“Anything else?” Thomas chuckled.

“I think this is perfect. Thank you,” I replied, leaning up to kiss him. “And thank you bestie. This is amazing.”

“Any time, bestie. Now, if you will excuse me a moment, I see Bastian over there, and we have some unfinished business,” Anna said with a twinkle in her eye. As she walked away, she called over her shoulder, “Enjoy your party.”

“Should we warn Bastian?” Thomas asked.

“Nah. He is a big boy, and I am sure he remembers her from that night in the bar. Now, I have guests to greet and you are not allowed to leave my side, understand? I missed you this morning,” I told him.

“As you wish,” Thomas replied.


	13. Puppies!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything associated with Thomas Müller, the German National Team, or Bayern Munich.

Michaela’s POV

“Hallo, Matthias. You wanted to see me?” I asked my boss as I entered his office one day in mid-February.

“Michaela, yes. I believe you know what question I am going to ask you. It is the same question I have been asking you for a month now. I need an answer,” he told me.

“I know. And I owe you one. But the fact of the matter is that I don’t know when I am going to go on maternity leave. I love this job, and I still feel fit enough to come into work every day and schedule photo shoots and book endorsements, and assist in managing the public relations of this team. I know women who worked until the day they went into labor. Why can’t I be one of those women?” I asked him.

“Because we both know that Thomas won’t let you be one of those women. I know that he is putting pressure on you, and quite frankly, it is in the best interest of the team if he is not distracted by the fact that his very pregnant girlfriend is insisting that she is still able to work to the high standards she holds herself. So I am assigning the date for you. March 2nd is the first day of your maternity leave. Before you object, I will not have a woman who is 8 months pregnant traveling with a football team. And like it or not, most of March is away. Believe me when I say that I don’t want to have to do this, your work has been impeccable, and your job will be waiting for you as soon as you want to come back, but that is my decision. Now is there anything else we need to discuss?” Matthias asked me.

“I suppose not. You have made up your mind and I have a shoot with Schweinsteiger,” I replied, turning around to leave.

“Michaela, please be reasonable. I know you love your job, but it is getting more difficult for you to move around as it is, and at this rate by next month you will barely be able to get up and down the stairs, let alone manage a photo shoot. It might be different if you would ask for help occasionally, but I can’t keep having Thomas come in here yelling at me for letting you climb a ladder to get Christmas lights down from the storage area to decorate the post-match interview table when I would never have let you do that in the first place if I had known. That is why we have assigned you an intern, but you keep sending him off on ridiculous errands instead of letting him actually help you, and my only other option is to handcuff him to you, but I don’t think either of you want that. If you insist on doing dangerous things, you leave me no choice. I really don’t want to do this, but I don’t see another way,” Matthias sighed.

“I know that I am being irrational, ok? I know this, I am seven months pregnant for crying out loud, I am an overemotional wreck, I burst into tears last night at a cat food commercial,” I conceded. “But,” I continued, “I still feel like that girl who came to you 5 months ago, who felt like she was getting this great gift, this wonderful opportunity that she didn’t earn. And she decided the first day that this was the best job she was ever going to have, it was everything she had ever hoped for and everything she didn’t even dare to dream of because there was no way she would never be able to achieve it, but that she was going to try to earn it anyway, because through the most bizarre twist of fate, she was given the opportunity to have it. And so I have spent every day trying to earn it. That is all I am doing. All I am asking is that you let me keep trying to earn it.”

“You have nothing left to prove, you have earned your place here so many times over that I have lost count. I promise you this. You are not the girl I was expecting, and you are the girl who I will have to seriously woo when you come off of maternity leave because several other clubs and companies have asked me about you already, and that is huge for someone who only really has 5 months experience in this field. And if you don’t start letting your intern do your heavy lifting, I will send you on maternity leave early. Do you understand?” Matthias asked.

“Yes. Thank you, sir. Now, if you will excuse me, Bastian is waiting,” I replied, excusing myself from his office.

**

“You’re late,” I teased Bastian as we both got out of our cars at the photo shoot ten minutes later.

“So are you,” he replied, kissing both of my cheeks in greeting. “How are you two today?”

“We are great, although we desperately want coffee, but it is not good for one of us, so both have to go without. How are you, Basti?” I asked him.

“I am a little disappointed that I have to do a photo shoot on Valentine’s Day, but other than that, I am fantastic, thanks. Please tell me this is going to be a really easy shoot?” Bastian asked.

“Don’t worry, I have a surprise in store that I think you are going to enjoy. Speaking of Valentine’s Day, how is Anna?” I asked him as he opened the door.

“Probably on a train right now. But she is very excited about this weekend, even the match, which she wants me to remind you is not something she wants you to get used to?” he asked me to clarify.

“She is not a football fan. She told me the only reason she is going to the game tomorrow is because there is a chance that you will all take your shirts off afterward. She has no interest in actually following the sport,” I replied.

“I will grant you that she is very stubborn, but I think we can turn her into a football fan yet. Care to try?” he asked me.

“I have been trying for years, and so far the closest I have been able to get is the promise that at the end of the match several fit men will take off their shirts in public. But I will do what I can to help,” I promised as we opened the studio door.

“Guten Tag, Hans, how are you?” I greeted the photographer.

“Very good, how are you? You look like you are ready to pop, how much longer do you have?” Hans asked me.

“A month and a half. And I am good. Are the special guests here already?” I asked him.

“Yes, they are in the back, running around until we are ready for them. Hallo, Bastian. How are you?” Hans asked, shaking his hand.

“Very good, but I am worried Michaela has something planned for my shoot that involves things that move on their own. At least tell me that it is nothing dangerous?” Bastian asked.

“Ask me no questions, Basti, and I will tell you no lies. I think you need to get dressed and made-up. I will check on your shoot mates,” I told him, pushing him toward a room off to one side of the set.

He looked at me a bit dubiously, but followed my instruction anyway.

Fifteen minutes later, everything was ready and Bastian came back out to set in a cream sweater and khaki pants. “How do I look?” he asked, turning around so I could give final approval on the look.

“You look great, Basti. Are you ready for your surprise? They are very excited to meet you,” I told him.

“If I say no, do I still have to meet them?” he asked.

“Yep. Hans, let them out,” I called.

The door on the other side of set opened and a tennis ball was thrown through, followed closely by 5 golden retriever puppies, who were doing their best to catch the projectile. Bastian immediately burst out laughing at the sight of the uncoordinated puppies landing in a pile on top of the tennis ball and try to pick it up despite the fact that none of their mouths were big enough to accomplish the task.

“So, do you like your surprise?” I asked Bastian.

“Yes, I do. The only thing I want to know is how do we get them in front of the cameras?” He asked as he bent down to pet the puppies.

“We’ll figure something out,” I replied, chuckling as he took the ball, which caused all of the puppies to converge on him.

**

“Thomas? Are you here?” I called as I entered our flat later that day. The shoot had been fun, but I was exhausted and my feet hurt from standing so long.

“I am in the bedroom,” he called.

I put my bag on the sofa as I passed it, and my breath caught in my throat as I entered the bedroom. There were candles on every solid surface and rose petals in a path leading to and all over the top of the bed. Thomas was standing next to the bed holding a bouquet of snapdragons, my favorite flower.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, baby,” he said, walking over to me and holding the flowers out in front of him.

“Thomas, this is amazing. How did you know that snapdragons are my favorite flower?” I asked taking the bouquet.

“If I told you it was a lucky guess, would you believe me?” he replied, wrapping his arms around me.

“Not even a little bit,” I told him.

“You know me too well, then. I asked Anna. Do you like them?” he asked.

“I love them. Happy Valentine’s Day,” I told him, leaning up to kiss him.

“Now,” he said, after pulling away, “Anna let it slip that you have never had the best luck with Valentine’s Day, so I took the liberty of planning 3 things we could do tonight and I will let you pick. First, I made us a reservation at a fantastic restaurant downtown, followed by a carriage ride in the park and a helicopter tour of München. Option 2 is Mini-golf followed by a private screening of your favorite movie at a small theater downtown. And your third choice is staying here, eating a catered meal, and I rub your feet while we watch a movie. Which do you choose?” he asked, rubbing tiny circles on my stomach.

“You present 3 options to a pregnant woman and expect her to choose any option that does not involve sitting around in sweats, having her gigantic, swollen feet rubbed? Are you mad? I pick option 3,” I told him.

“I thought that is what you would say. We have an hour before the food shows up and I have already drawn you a bath. Why don’t you go soak, and I will come get you in 45 minutes so you can get dressed before the caterers arrive,” he offered.

“I have a better idea,” I told him, leaning up to kiss him firmly on the mouth. After a minute of very serious tonsil hockey I kissed a trail along his jawline to the spot where his ear met his neck. “Why don’t you join me in the tub?” I whisper in his ear before taking his earlobe into my mouth and nibbling it gently before turning and walking to the bathroom, taking my shirt off as I went.

“Michaela,” Thomas said, grabbing my hand to stop me. “You know you don’t need to prove anything to me right? If you are not ready, we don’t have to do this,” he told me with concern in his bright blue eyes.

“I am trying really hard not to be the girl who equates her boyfriend respecting her with him rejecting her, but do you really not want me?” I asked.

Suddenly his eyes changed. They turned dark with desire and Thomas crushed his lips to mine. His lips quickly found my neck, making me moan as he kissed me with all the passion I had felt building between us the past few months. Just as suddenly, he pulled away. “For someone so intelligent, you can be pretty thick when you want to be, so I am showing you how much I want you. I want you more than anything, more than I have ever wanted anyone, but I want you to be sure that you want me the same way I want you. This can’t be taken back, and once we start this, I am not sure that I am going to be able to stop. So tell me now if you have any reservations. I love you and I am willing to wait as long as you want to,” he told me with such tenderness that I almost missed the words for the feeling behind them.

“Say it again,” I told him, not daring to believe what he had said, not sure if it had just come out, or if he had really meant it.

“I am still willing to wait for you,” he told me.

“Not that part. Tell me you love me again,” I told him.

“Michaela, I am so in love with you. I am not entirely sure how it happened, or when, but I have never felt this way about anyone. You challenge me to be the best I can be, you support me when I need it, and you are without a doubt the most incredible woman I have ever met and I feel lucky every day that you allow me to share with you. I love you, Michaela. I am so in love with you,” he told me, kissing me gently.

“I love you, too, Thomas. That is why I am sure about this. There have been people in my past who used my trust and who broke my heart so badly I thought it would stop beating. But you are my match in every way. Every kiss, every touch, every day I get to wake up next to you is more than I have ever dared hope for, but you have made me believe that I deserve a love like this. I am so ready to do this because you are the best thing I have ever had, and I want to be with you in every way possible. I have no doubt. Not about you. Not about us. So,” I started, kissing him again. Right as things started to get heated, I pulled away, grabbed the hem of his shirt and said, “Do you want to join me in the tub?”

“Oh god, yes,” he replied, his eyes darkening again as he took his shirt from my hands, and ripped it over his head. The second it was out of the way, his mouth was on mine again and he pressed himself hungrily against me. I could feel his hardness on my stomach and was so excited I was not sure we would make it to the tub.

**

“What do you mean you didn’t have sex? After all of that, you couldn’t seal the deal?” Anna asked at the game the next day.

“Could you say that louder, I don’t think the guys on the pitch heard you,” I hissed, turning red. “Just because we didn’t have intercourse doesn’t mean we didn’t have sex. We were both very satisfied,” I told her.

“Really?” Anna asked.

“Oh yeah. I was satisfied 3 times,” I told her.

“Three times? Really?” Anna asked.

“Three times. Thomas really is quite good with his tongue,” I giggled. Just then Thomas broke away and made a run for the goal. The crowd went nuts cheering him on and I was right there with them until I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. I doubled over as the cheering did the same thing. Thomas must have scored, but all I could feel was blinding pain. “Anna,” I said, grabbing her leg to get her attention because she had not seen me go down.

“Michaela? Oh my god, you are covered in blood. We need a medic,” Anna shouted. “Michaela, we need to get you out of here, can you walk?”

“No,” I gritted out. The crowd was quiet now and attention was turning to me. I caught a glimpse of the screens in the stadium and realized that half of them were showing Thomas on the field and the other half were showing me, doubled over on the ground in pain, covered in blood. The Thomas on the screens was shouting something, and trying to push past the security guards. The field medic had made his way to me and was trying to get a blood pressure reading, as security was trying to get a stretcher to me. Things were starting to go fuzzy around the edges and the last thing I was aware of was Thomas grabbing and taking my hand.

“I am fine,” I told him before my world went dark.


	14. Number One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Thomas Müller, Bayern Munich, or the German National Team

Michaela’s POV:

“Stop looking at me like that, you have to go back to work. I am fine, I have all of my amusements at hand, I have food, I have drink, and Anna is going to be here the whole day. If I need anything that is not in arms reach, Anna can bring it to me. You even made us practice her helping me get into the wheelchair last night for half an hour for when I have to go to the bathroom. I am fine. The baby is fine. I am not thrilled about being on bed rest until the baby is born, but I promise I am not going to do anything dangerous. Ok?” I asked him as we lay in our bed on Monday morning, just over a week after the incident at the pitch.

“I just don’t know if I am ready to leave you two with someone else yet. Not even Anna,” he whispered, burying his head in my neck and placing one hand protectively on my stomach.

“But the team needs you. They lost this weekend without you, and I know that it kills you to know that the outcome could have been different if you had been there. I have seen the video, I can’t even imagine how scary it must have been for you to see me go down, covered in blood like that. But I already told you months ago that you are not getting rid of me that easily. It was just a minor placental abruption, and as long I take it very easy, I will be fine. If it makes you feel better we can hire a nurse to be at the house when you are at work, too, not just when you are at an away match. But you have to go now. I promise you that we are going to be-” I started, but Thomas cut me off.

“Stop saying fine,” he sobbed.

“Hey, what’s wrong, why are you crying?” I asked, shifting to try to get a better look at him.

“That is what you told me when you fainted. I just can’t hear you say fine without thinking about you lying on the ground, covered in blood. I want to be strong, and leave this flat so bad, but I am never going to be able to if you keep saying you are fine. That was the single worst moment of my life. I have never felt so scared or helpless in my life. Every time I leave your side for a second, I feel that terror welling up in me all over again, and your saying you will be fine is not helping. I am having a panic attack just thinking about leaving you in this flat, because I know how stubborn you are about how much you think you can do without help. What if you fall, or something else happens and Anna can’t lift you? How am I supposed to leave you knowing that something could happen?” he asked, still sobbing, burying his head once again in my shoulder.

We sat like that for a while, him sobbing, me trying to comfort him, but knowing that he had to get all of this out before he would be able to put it past him.

“Hand me my phone,” I told him a little while later when he started to calm down.

“Why?” he asked me.

“I need to make a couple of phone calls,” I said.

He obliged and I pressed the number 9 and hit send. “Hallo Michaela, how are you feeling?” a male voice answered the phone on the other end.

“Great, Pep, thanks for asking. Thomas is probably not going to make it in today,” I told him.

“I am sorry to hear that. We missed him this weekend, and I was hoping he would be back today, now that you are back at home. What seems to be the problem?” Pep asked me.

“The problem is that he watched his very pregnant girlfriend almost die on your pitch and he is going to need more than a couple of days to get over that, but I will do my best to have him there as soon as possible,” I assured him.

“Yes, of course. I did not mean any offense, and I understand that this is a hard time for the two of you. Please let me know if there is anything that we can do. Just get him back to us,” Pep replied.

“Thanks, Pep. I will call you soon,” I promised, hanging up the phone.

“Thank you for doing that, but do you have to be so short with Pep? He is my boss after all,” Thomas said.

“I know, I just don’t like the way he treats you. Besides, he is not my boss and he knows me well enough to know that I wouldn’t be calling him without good reason,” I replied.

“Ok, but then why is he on your speed dial?” Thomas asked.

“Because he is the one person guaranteed to have their ringer on on the pitch. I did it so that if I ever need to get ahold of you, I can, and at all times. I also have Manu, Basti, Mario, Robert, and Fips, plus the whole PR department on speed dial. Not to mention the entire rest of the team, the rest of the coaching staff, all of the interns, and Lars programed into my phone. That way, Anna or I can always reach someone who can pass along a message to you if there is another emergency. I have thought of everything, I promise,” I replied, kissing him on the forehead, before turning my attention back to my phone.

“Who is Lars?” he asked.

“He is the attendant for the staff parking lot,” I replied, scrolling through my contacts.

“Am I on your speed dial?” Thomas asked with genuine curiosity.

“Of course you are,” I responded distractedly.

“Really?” he asked.

“Yes, you dork, you are on my speed dial,” I chuckled at his incredulity.

“Please tell me I made the top 10,” he said.

“Do you seriously not know what number you are?” I asked finally looking at him, trying to figure out if he was kidding or not.

“I am 13, aren’t I? Because of my jersey number? Please tell me I am not as low as 25?” he asked.

“You are serious,” I replied, unable to contain my laughter at the look he was giving me. I leaned over and kissed him on the forehead again. “You, my dear Thomas,” I moved down to kiss one of his cheeks, “are,” I kissed the other cheek, “obviously,” I kissed the tip of his nose, “my number one,” I replied, finally kissing him softly on the lips. He slowly melted, relaxing his shoulders with a sigh as he deepened the kiss. We lay there for a few moments, just enjoying kissing each other until Thomas pulled away, yawning hugely.

“Ok, I think it is nap time. Don’t even pretend you have been sleeping well since I got home, we both know you have been having nightmares and that you wake up every time I move at all. Plus, before that you slept in that ridiculous chair next to my hospital bed for 4 days, which didn’t look comfortable at all, but you are so stubborn. So please, for me, try to relax and get some sleep? What do you say?” I asked him.

“What are you going to do while I am asleep?” he asked me sleepily.

“I have a book and I have my computer at hand. I will call Anna if I need anything and can’t wake you up,” I told him.

“Fine. If it will make you happy, I will take a nap. I love you,” he mumbled groggily, kissing me on the lips once more.

“I love you, too,” I told him, taking the hand that was on my belly and entwining our fingers before placing it back where it was.

**

I was reading when Thomas finally started to stir. I put my book down on the bedside table and kissed his cheek as his eyes fluttered open. “Good morning, baby. How did you sleep?” I asked.

“Not bad, actually. How long was I out?” he asked as he molded himself to my side again.

“Almost four hours. You were completely dead to the world, it was kind of a relief to see you sleeping the way you usually do again. I was even able to make the rest of my phone calls without waking you. There will be nurse here while you are at work starting tomorrow, and Onkel  Josef and Tante Sabine will rotate with your parents, Anna, and your sister to make sure that until I give birth there are always two people here when you are not. I know I can’t make it so you don’t worry, but I can make it so you worry less,” I told him with a kiss.

“You are amazing, do you know that? Absolutely incredible. Thank you for bearing with me while I am being a crazy person,” he said, running his hand along my cheekbone.

“Don’t thank me yet, the worst part is next. You are going to sit in the hallway for at least an hour,” I informed him.

“What?” he asked.

“It is a baby step. You are close enough that we can get you if we need you, but you are proving to yourself that you can leave me in this apartment with someone else. Anna will come and get you when your time is up. I know this seems impossible, but you can do this,” I said.

“What happens if I can’t do it?” he asked.

“If you re-enter the apartment before your hour is up, you will have to go back outside and another hour will be added to your time, until you can do it. You can use your old apartment if you need to go to the bathroom, or anything, but you can’t come in here. The timer starts as soon as the door shuts. Send Anna in on your way out,” I told him with a peck on the lips.

“I am not going to be able to change your mind about this, am I?” he asked.

“Not even a little bit. The team, our team needs you, just as much as I need you, so I am going to do everything I can to get you back to them. Now go,” I ordered.

“I know that this is hard for you too. But you are doing this because it is the best thing for me. I love you so much,” he replied, kissing me firmly on the lips before he pulled himself away and stood up.

“I think we both know that I love you, too,” I said as he left the room.

“So,” Anna asked as she walked in less than a minute later, “do you really think he can do this?”

“I know he can,” I told her. “Now, help me into the chair, I have to pee so bad.”


	15. Dortmund is Not the Moon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own anything associated with Thomas Müller, Bayern Munich, the German National Team, or anyone else you might recognize.

Michaela’s POV:

“Don’t make me go,” Thomas whined, flopping face down on the bed next to me.

“I thought we were passed this, Thomas,” I replied, running my fingers through his hair in an effort to get him to look at me.

“Muhp ifs angh wiagh gahmn,” he said, his pillow making what he said unintelligible.

“Ok, Thomas you are going to have to lift your head or at least turn it so that you are not speaking directly into your pillow because I did not understand a word you just said,” I told him.

“But it’s an away game,” he repeated, tuning his head toward me.

“I know, but it is just Dortmund, not the moon. You can be back in a few hours if need be and I am not even due for a couple weeks. It is just for one night and you are leaving as soon as the match is over. You have to admit you are being a little silly,” I said, sliding down so that I could look into his eyes.

“I know, but I really want to be there when you give birth. What is silly about that?” he asked me.

“Nothing. And I promise you that if I go into labor, you will be the first call, and if I can’t reach you then I will keep calling people on the team until I can reach someone, because I want you there too. This is not the first away game you have left me for, and we both got through it no problem. I think you are just psyching yourself out,” I responded, reaching out to cup his cheek.

“But this is farther than Augsburg, and we are going to be gone longer. You are right though, I am just being silly. I just have this feeling that it is going to happen soon and I don’t want to leave, but I will because it is the mature thing to do,” he sighed.

“That is the Tommy I know and love. Besides, only one person at a time per family can hole up in the house for months on end and I have dibs right now,” I joked, kissing him lightly.

“Are you trying to make it harder for me to leave, because kissing me is not helping,” Thomas chuckled against my lips.

“Sorry, that was not my intention. I better stop,” I teased, pulling away from him slightly.

“Don’t you dare,” he countered, reclosing the distance and kissing me deeply. My surprised laughter died quickly on my lips as I got lost in the feeling of his lips and tongue.

He had shifted his focus to my neck, when from the doorway we heard, “Hey Thomas, don’t you need to- Oh jeez. Can’t you guys warn a girl?”

“Sorry Anna,” I said with a laugh.

“Yeah you sound so sorry. Thomas, the nurse is here, so that means it is time for you to leave, right?” Anna asked.

“Unfortunately,” he sighed.

“Hey, the sooner you get out of here, the sooner you come back, right?” I asked.

“Right, right. I love you, Little One. And you, Littler One,” he said, leaning down to speak directly to my stomach. “You stay where you are until I get back, do you hear me?”

“Stop stalling, Thomas,” I ordered.

“Yes, Ma’am,” Thomas said, kissing me on the lips and getting out of the bed. “I will call you when I get to the hotel.”

“Ok. Love you,” I told him.

“Love you, too,” he answered as he left the room.

“So, what movie do you want to watch, now that the boys are gone?” Anna asked, climbing in bed next to me.

“Goonies?” I suggested.

“Perfect,” she agreed, settling in next to me and cueing up the movie.

**

“Anna, get in here, the match is about to start,” I called.

“Here I am, calm down. Do you have any idea how hard it is to balance popcorn, pretzels, and 2 Äpfelschorle at the same time?” she asked, setting the snacks down on the bedside table and handing me my drink.

“Sorry, I just know you like to see them walking out,” I reminded her.

“I guess you have a point. Oh, look at Thomas, talking to his kid. He is going to be a great dad,” Anna commented.

“I know, I got so lucky with how this situation turned out,” I replied.

“Hear, hear. You got Thomas, I got Basti, I do have to say that you getting pregnant with a married famous guys kid could have turned out a lot worse,” Anna chuckled.

“Yeah, yeah, let’s just watch the game,” I said.

“Ok,” Anna replied, moving the two snack bowls in between us and settling in to watch.

**

At half time the game was tied 1-1. Reus and Basti had both scored, and although Thomas had taken several shots on goal, all had been blocked by the keeper.

Anna was in the kitchen refilling our snacks, when I had a sudden pain in my abdomen and let out a screech. Anna was in the room immediately after, followed closely by the nurse. “What happened? Are you ok?” Anna asked me.

“I think I had a contraction,” I told her.

“Are you going into labor?” Anna questioned.

“I don’t know, it was just one, sometimes this happens, you can get isolated contractions. I am not calling Thomas yet,” I replied.

“Michaela,” Anna started, but I cut her off.

“No, it is too soon to know for sure, and he has to play the second half. My water hasn’t even broken yet. He still has plenty of time to get here if I am going into labor,” I reasoned.

“Ok, but if he asks, I wanted to call him right away,” Anna conceded.

“Fine. Oh, look, they are coming back,” I said, pointing to the screen.

I was fine for about 7 minutes of the second half until I got another contraction. A couple of minutes later my water broke and Anna was not taking no as an answer at that point and told me that if I didn’t call Thomas, she was going to.

Knowing that if Anna called instead of me, Thomas would freak out, I dialed him and got his voicemail as expected. I left a quick message and then called Pep.

“Michaela, we are in the middle of a match, can this wait?” Pep asked.

“Would I be calling you if it could wait? My water just broke,” I informed him.

“How far apart are your contractions?” Pep asked me.

“More than 5 minutes, less than ten,” I told him.

“Well, call me if they get any closer, but I am not pulling him. We need him in this game, end of story,” Pep said.

“Fine, but if Thomas misses the birth of his child by less than 40 minutes, I am telling Nicola to wax your eyebrows next time you go in to get your hair cut,” I told him, hanging up the phone.

I dialed another number from memory. “Jens,” the voice on the other end answered the call.

“Jens, I need you to book Thomas a flight home as soon as possible. Pep won’t let him off the field, but I am going into labor, so he will want to get here as fast as he can once he finds out,” I told Jens, between gritted teeth as I rode out another contraction.

“I can do that. And Pep seriously won’t let him off the field?” Jens asked.

“I am working on that, don’t worry, just get me that info as soon as possible. He will also need a car to take him to the airport,” I added as an afterthought then hung up the phone.

I did everything I could think of to get the news to Thomas, but in the end, when he scored the winning goal in the 89th minute, I could see Matthias on the TV, yelling at Pep to let Thomas leave the pitch.

As soon as the whistle blew, Matthias marched out onto the pitch and right up to Thomas, who ran off the field immediately after Matthias had finished talking.

“Ok, he knows, let’s get you to the hospital so when he gets there you will be there,” Anna ordered.

I just had to hope he would get there in time.


	16. Congratulations, It's A...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own anything associated with Thomas Müller or Bayern Munich.

Michaela’s POV:

“Ahhh!” I shouted 2 hours later as I rode out another contraction.

“Are you sure you don’t want an epidural?” Anna asked as she held my hand and was trying to remind me to breathe properly.

“Yes, for the millionth time, I don’t want to give birth to a stoned baby,” I yelled as the contraction ended.

“Well, then can I have it, because seriously babe, I want to be able to use my hand after this,” Anna asked, as she removed her hand from mine and shook it like she was trying to get feeling back in it.

“Any time you want to change places, let me know, I am 100 percent on board,” I replied. I glanced at the clock on the wall and discovered it had only been about 2 minutes since the last time I had looked.

“He will be here,” Anna promised.

“What if he doesn’t make it?” I asked.

“Then I will go in with you and we will take tons of pictures. We prepared for the chance that he might not be able to make it to the birth. Do you remember the birthing class? Thomas made anyone who could conceivably be around when you went into labor attend. Thomas made Bastian attend, even though he could not come up with a reasonable scenario in which Bastian would be around but Thomas would be unable to get to the hospital,” Anna reminded me.

“True. I can’t believe he did that, although it was worth it to see Bastian pretending to be pregnant so you could practice being the birthing partner. I have to admit, I was so disappointed when the instructor showed up at the house. I thought that for sure I would be able to leave the apartment to go to the birthing class at least, but I forgot the rule: never underestimate ThomaAAHHH,” I cut off, reaching for her hand again as I was hit by another contraction.

“Remember to breathe, short, short long. Good, you are doing great, Michaela,” Anna coached as I tried to focus on my breathing.

“Those are getting close together,” I told her as soon as it had passed.

“Stop worrying, he will get here. What can I do to make you stop worrying?” Anna asked.

“Distract me again, tell me another story, a bad joke, anything,” I prompted.

“Ok, how about the picnic? Thomas realized you were so disappointed that you basically hadn’t been out of the house in three weeks that he surprised you by leaving practice early one day so he could take you to the park you like and had a picnic waiting. He even set up a table and chairs because he knew you would not be able to sit on the ground that long,” Anna replied.

“Yeah, that was great. So romantic, he even found a bakery that made us rolls shaped like our initials. He carried me up and down three flights of steps because there is no elevator in our building. And when we opened the door, I find it was all a clever ru-ugh,” I groaned as I rode out another contraction.

“It was all a clever what?” Anna asked as the contraction ended and my grip on her hand loosened.

“Ruse. It was all just a clever ruse so that you could get me out of the house to set up the baby shower you had forgotten about,” I reminded her.

“I did not forget. I had to wait because I wanted it be a surprise. Plus, you had your graduation/going away party right before your welcome to Munich party, I wanted to give you a break before throwing you another party. Besides, you can’t have a baby shower too close to Valentine’s Day, same with St. Patrick’s Day. The timing had to be just ri-ow, ow, ow, hand,” Anna complained as I was hit by another contraction and squeezed her hand suddenly.

Just then the nurse walked in. “How are things going in here?” she asked.

“Peachy. I was just wondering what all the fuss is about giving birth. This is a walk in the freaking park,” I replied in a voice dripping with sarcasm.

“That is lovely dear, now open up, I need to see what is going on,” the nurse responded dryly.

Anna and I exchanged a look while the nurse was under my sheet, and when she emerged the nurse said, “Michaela, you are almost fully dilated, you should get your gown and gloves on Anna, it looks like you are going in.”

“Hand me my phone,” I ordered Anna as she started putting the items the nurse had brought in earlier on.

I dialed Thomas’ number one more time and it went straight to voicemail. “Thomas Müller I am being moved into the delivery room soon, and if you are not here by the time I do you are going to be sleeping on the couch for a month, do you hear me? I am having contractions and I am almost fully dilated and the nurse is weird and I have forgotten her name, and you promised you would be here, and while it would be great to see Pep without eyebrows, I want you to get here in time. I want you here 2 hours ago, do you understand me?” I hung up as the next contraction started.

“Where the hell is he?” I asked Anna once it had passed.

“He is on his way,” Anna assured me.

“Ok, time to go,” the nurse said as she breezed back into the room.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I really hate you,” I told the nurse.

“You are not the first. Here, have some ice chips,” she said, handing me a cup of ice as she started to attach my IV and all the machines that were coming with us to the bed.

“I don’t want ice chips, you awful cow, I want you to act like a normal human being,” I replied, throwing the ice at her.

“What is going on in here?” a voice I would recognize anywhere asked from the door.

“Thomas, you are here,” I cried in relief, reaching for him.

“Of course I’m here, I promised,” he replied, kissing me on the lips.

“Why didn’t you answer your phone? I called you less than a minute ago,” I told him.

“I was in the elevator, it didn’t even ring,” he said.

“You always have to answer your pho-AHHH,” I screamed as a contraction hit.

“You will need to put these on,” the nurse said as she handed Thomas a gown and gloves.

“I will do that as soon as she loosens the death grip on my right hand,” Thomas replied.

“Super,” the nurse responded as she left the room again.

“Do me a favor?” I asked Thomas as he was putting the hospital gear on.

“Anything,” he told me.

“Don’t hold anything I say to you while I am pushing a human being out of my body against me?” I requested.

“Deal,” he agreed.

**

Twenty minutes later we were in the delivery room and I was suddenly regretting not getting the epidural. “Thomas, if you don’t stop telling me what a great job I am doing and reminding me to push, I am going to push my foot right up your ass, how does that sound?” I asked.

“Well, what would you like me to say, the birthing coach told me I was supposed to be supportive,” he replied.

“Not to interrupt this lovely moment, but the head is crowning, I need you to start pushing now, Michaela,” Dr. Heinrich ordered.

“I hate you so much right now, Thomas,” I said with gritted teeth as I pushed.

“You can feel however you want right now as long as you push and remember to breathe,” Thomas responded.

“Ok, great job Michaela, the head is out, now comes the fun part. Next contraction, push as hard as you can,” Dr. Heinrich told me.

“If you remind me to breathe one more time Thomas, I am going to take my IV stand and hit you in the head with it,” I screamed as I pushed with every ounce of strength I had despite being in the worst pain I had ever been in. Suddenly the pain lessened considerably and the room was filled with crying.

“Great job, Michaela, you are all done, it is a girl,” Dr. Heinrich spoke as he handed the baby to a nurse.

“It is a girl,” I repeated with happy tears in my eyes as I looked up at Thomas. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he replied, leaning down to kiss my forehead.

“Thomas, do you want to cut the cord?” Dr. Heinrich asked.

“I’ll be right back, don’t go anywhere,” Thomas joked with a peck on my lips.

I chuckled exhaustedly as he walked to the end of my bed. He came back a minute later with our daughter wrapped in a blanket. “She is perfect,” Thomas said with awe in his voice.

“Then she takes after you,” I replied as he set her in my arms.

“She needs a name,” Thomas mentioned.

“I like Katrin,” I replied.

“Me too, it suits her somehow. Katrin Elisabeth,” he suggested.

“Katrin Elisabeth?” I asked.

“Yeah, your grandmother was Elisabeth, and it is yours and your mothers’ middle name. I think we should continue the tradition, don’t you?” he asked.

“Katrin Elisabeth Müller. I like it,” I answered him.

“Welcome to the world, Katrin Elisabeth. We have been waiting to meet you for months,” Thomas told her as she yawned hugely.

“I think she is unimpressed,” I said him, stifling a yawn of my own.

“Well, she has had a tough day, so has her mom. I think she has earned a nap,” he replied.

“Well, as long as her daddy says it is ok,” I agreed.

“Oh, wow,” he said incredulously.

“What is it, babe?” I asked.

“I am a daddy. I am someone’s Father,” he replied with a chuckle.

“And you are going to be a great one,” I told him. He leaned down to kiss me on the forehead, then turned his attention back to Katrin. Our perfect little miracle.


	17. Well It Is About Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing associated with Thomas Müller, Bayern Munich, or anything else you recognize.

Thomas’ POV:

“Anna, you are not helping. I brought you along because you are Michaela’s best friend and this is a very important moment. We have been dating for three years, we have a kid for crying out loud, and we are both very traditional. This is the most important part of a very important moment, if I get it wrong she could say no and I don’t want that, so will you please focus and give me your honest opinion. Which do you think she will like best? I already ignored Basti’s suggestion because letting her choose after she says yes is insane, so please just help me here,” I pleaded.

“Dude, calm down. First off, she is not going to say no, you could blurt it out while she was making you breakfast and she would say yes. Secondly, you are right, Bastian’s suggestion is crazy, if you are going to ask her you need a ring. Thirdly, I think that one is perfect, but you should change out the stones for a garnet and a sapphire set into the band. It will mean more to her because those are your birthstones. Although Katrin’s birthstone is a diamond, maybe they can incorporate a small diamond into the middle somehow, between the garnet and sapphire? What do you think?” Anna asked me.

I was about to respond when my phone rang. I pulled it out and had a mild panic attack when I saw the caller ID. “Oh god, it is Michaela, do you think she knows I am here, is she calling to tell me no, what do I do?” I asked frantically.

“Good lord, you are ridiculous sometimes. Give me the phone and don’t say anything,” Anna replied.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because I don’t trust you not to give away your own surprise, give me the phone,” she repeated, holding her hand out.

I gave her the phone hesitantly and she answered it with a quick, “Thomas’ phone.”

“No, love, this is Anna. He is having lunch with Basti and I at that little café near the pitch we all like so much and he left his phone on the table while he ran to the loo,” Anna told Michaela.

“Well, Basti is paying right now, so he can’t come to the phone, but do you want us to come meet you somewhere, we are done. We were going to wait for you, but we had no idea how long the interview would take. You know how Javi can talk once you get him going,” Anna joked nonchalantly.

“Ok, I will pass along the message. Love you, Bestie,” Anna said, hanging up the phone.

“What did she say?” I asked desperately.

“She said she is done with work for the day and wanted to see what you were up to. I offered to have her meet up with us, but she said she was clear across town and would just see you at home later. Simple, easy, and she is not suspicious at all,” Anna answered.

“Oh, good. Now, you were saying something about birthstones that sounded really smart,” I turned my attention back to the case.

Michaela’s POV:

I hung up the phone and looked around the café in disbelief. My best friend has my boyfriend’s phone and just lied to me about where they were. Is my boyfriend cheating on me with my best friend?

**

I was unlocking the door to my flat later that day when Bastian emerged from next door. “Oh, hi Michaela, I was hoping you would be Thomas. I need to talk to him about something,” he spoke.

“Oh, weren’t you just hanging out all day?” I asked.

“No, I haven’t seen him all day. We weren’t doing anything,” Bastian commented.

“Oh, my mistake. I will let him know you are looking for him,” I replied, rushing into the house feeling tears well up in my eyes. I couldn’t help but wonder if Bastian wasn’t with them, why were Anna and Thomas together, and why would she lie about where they were?

Anna’s POV

“Shit, shit, shit,” Bastian said as he came back into the flat, shutting the door behind him.

“What?” I asked from the couch.

“I am not good under pressure, you have to understand that about me by now,” he ranted as he paced a tight spiral.

“You are a professional footballer who plays for tens of thousands of people on a regular basis. What do you mean you aren’t good under pressure?” I questioned.

“Michaela just came home and I may have just told her that I haven’t seen Thomas all day. That was bad right? I mean I am not good at this lying to one of my best friends things, but that is going to make her ask questions like why were Thomas and Anna out together earlier, right?” Bastian asked so quickly I almost didn’t catch what he had said.

“You did what? Are you an idiot? She is going to think that Thomas and I are planning something, you know how she is when she thinks we are trying to cut her out of the fun of event planning, do you not remember her last birthday? That was a total fiasco even before she figured out what we were doing,” I commented.

“I know, what do you think should we do?” he asked in a proper panic.

“We do nothing. The big reveal is at the game tomorrow, we wait until then and cut off contact with Thomas,” I replied.

“But he is my best friend, plus you are picking up the ring, you are going to have to see Thomas at some point before he asks,” I reminded her.

“No, the plan was I hang on to it until he asks, then I hand him the box when he walks over to us. I think this is going to work. We just have to avoid him until after the game and I have to pay really close attention to the match,” I started to calm down as the plan came back together.

“What about half time?” Bastian asked.

“I will offer to take Katrin to the loo at half time, she always has to go at half time, I will just say I had too much soda, it will all be fine,” I assured him.

“This is really stressful. I am officially saying no next time Thomas says he wants to surprise Michaela,” Bastian commented. “What?” he asked when I chuckled.

“You said that last time,” I reminded him.

“You are going to regret saying that, missy,” he told me as he threw me over his shoulder and ran to the bedroom, both of us laughing.

**

Michaela’s POV:

The match was almost over and I had been sitting next to Anna waiting for her to say something, but so far the only thing we had talked about was whether I wanted red vines or popcorn. I didn’t want to start a scene in front of Katrin, but Anna was acting like nothing was happening. I finally couldn’t hold it in any longer and in the 89th minute I blurted out, “So I saw Bastian in the hallway yesterday. He said he hadn’t seen Thomas all day.”

“Oh, really, is that what he said?” Anna replied as the official held up a board adding 3 minutes to the clock.

“I know you weren’t at the café when I called Thomas yesterday, Anna,” I told her.

“What are you talking about, I can show you the receipt for our meal. I had the venison, Basti had the lamb, and Thomas had the sausage and potato soup,” Anna said.

“I know you weren’t there because I was at the café, I was calling to see if you guys were hungry and wanted to join me. Where were you and why did you lie to me?” I asked.

“What? Oh, god this is bad. I can explain everything, I swear, it just has to wait until the game is over,” Anna promised.

“No, I don’t think it can. Because you are right, it is bad. I think my boyfriend is cheating on me with my best friend and I am not happy about it. Based on your behavior today, you are clearly hiding something from me, and based on your lie yesterday, I think what you are lying about is sleeping with my boyfriend, so if that is not it, I need your explanation right now, because if you don’t clear this up now, I won’t be here in two minutes to hear it,” I replied, gathering up all of my stuff and picking up Katrin.

“Fine, but if he asks, you gave me no choice. We were picking out a ring yesterday. Thomas is going to propose to you in about a minute and a half, here and in front of everybody, but he wanted my opinion on the ring. That is where we were yesterday when you called, Thomas, Basti, and I,” Anna confessed.

“What? But Basti said,” I trailed off, sitting back down with Katrin on my lap.

“Basti panicked when he saw you in the hallway, and said the first thing that came into his head. He doesn’t lie very well. And the only reason I answered Thomas’ phone at the jewelers was because Thomas had a panic attack when he saw you were calling and was terrified he would give away the surprise. You guys have been dating for 3 years and you have a kid. This can’t be that unexpected,” Anna reasoned.

“Yes, but here, now, in front of everybody?” I replied.

“Apparently Katrin gave him the idea,” Anna chuckled.

“Oh, god, how long do I have until I have to act surprised?” I asked as I looked at the clock and saw there was about ten seconds to compose myself.

I had just gotten my breathing under control when the lights in the stadium dimmed a bit and the announcer said, “Now before you all run off, we here at Allainz Arena consider our fans part of the family and one of our players has something very important to ask, and he needs your help. So if you could help Thomas out and read the words on the screens out loud on the count of three? Great. One, two, three,” the announcer counted down.

Suddenly Thomas was standing right in front of me, taking a box from Anna as the stadium said, “Michaela, will you marry me?”

“You are the most incredible person I have ever met. You challenge me, you make me laugh, you are my match in every way. I know I already made this pledge once to someone else, but I promise this time it is so different. You have already given me the greatest gift anyone could ever give me in our beautiful daughter, and I want to pledge right now, in front of our whole world, that if you give me the chance I will love you until my last breath. Will you marry me,” he asked, opening the box as he sunk to one knee.

I was speechless as I saw the beautiful platinum band set with a garnet and a sapphire circling a small diamond in the center. “It is the three of us. Garnet for me, sapphire for you, and diamond for Katrin. It is so beautiful, I don’t know what to say, Thomas,” I replied with tears rushing down my cheeks.

“Just say yes. I mean if you want to. You are crying. If you don’t want to marry me, that is fine too, we can figure something out, but-” he started to ramble.

I leaned over the side of the rail and cut him off with a kiss. The entire stadium erupted in cheers around us. He seemed surprised, but quickly recovered, standing up so we had a better angle, never breaking contact with my lips. “Well, it is about time, folks, don’t you think? Look at that happy little family,” I heard the announcer say.

“I am crying because I am happy, you dork. Of course the answer is yes. Will you put the ring on?” I asked, holding my hand out to him. As he slipped the ring on my finger the cheering got even louder still, but when his lips met mine again, I couldn’t hear any of the chaos surrounding us. He was mine and I was going to be his for the rest of our lives and I was so happy in that moment I felt I might burst.

“I can’t believe we were able to keep this secret from you,” Thomas commented when he pulled away and took Katrin from Anna.

“Well,” Anna started.

“You told her?” Thomas cut her off.

“Funny story, she thought we were having an affair, I had to tell her to keep her here. But it was a secret until the 92nd minute,” Anna noted.

“What? You thought I was cheating on you?” Thomas asked me.

“It is a long story, I will tell you at home. Why don’t you take a shower so we can go celebrate properly. Katrin and I will wait for you,” I promised.

“I love you, Michaela. Never forget that,” he asserted before kissing me once more fiercely and handing me Katrin.

“I will always love you, Thomas,” I replied.

I kissed him back until Katrin pushed our faces apart and said, “No more kissy face.”

“Sorry, kiddo, just one more. Here,” he replied, covering Katrin’s eyes as he leaned in once more to kiss me.


	18. Pre-Wedding Jitters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize. This is a work of fiction.

Michaela’s POV:

“So, whose idea was this again?” Thomas called as he packed a bag in the bedroom while I got his toiletry bag from the bathroom.

“It is tradition. We are supposed to spend the night apart so that the first time you see me on our wedding day is when I am walking down the aisle. I think it is romantic, don’t you?” I asked as I joined him.

“I think it means that I have to spend an unnecessary night apart from you. And when have we ever done anything the traditional way?” Thomas countered as he carefully packed his dress shoes in the bag.

“Honestly the only thing that is not traditional about our relationship is the fact that we got pregnant before we were a couple. If you take that out of the equation we are both ridiculously old fashioned. I like the idea that we are going to be taking part in a tradition that goes back centuries. And this is part of that,” I reminded him.

“But we are writing our own vows, we are doing a handfasting ceremony, it is being officiated by Matthias instead of a priest, our daughter is the flower girl and we are going to be standing barefoot in a field. How is that traditional?” Thomas asked, wrapping his arms around my waist to still me as I was puttering around the room, gathering things he would need for his night away from the flat.

“People have been writing their own vows for hundreds of years, handfasting predates the stereotypical Catholic ceremony, I want the person marrying us to actually know us, who else would be the flower girl, and for the last time we are not going to be standing barefoot in a field, we are going to be standing barefoot in a meadow outside the Natural History Museum, which we have been lucky to rent because it is one of the only places in all of München that met all of our security requirements,” I reminded him as I sank into his arms.

“This means a lot to you, doesn’t it?” he asked resting his chin on top of my head.

“It does. When I was younger I kept thinking that I was never going to get married because I couldn’t imagine finding that one person I trusted more than myself, that elusive match that I would be able to grow with instead of apart from, who I would never have cause to doubt for the rest of our lives. I never dreamt 4 years ago when I woke up in that hotel room that you and I would be standing in our house on the eve of our wedding still arguing about spending the night before our wedding together or not. The answer to which is still no, and will continue to be no, no matter how many times you pout your lips at me, Mister,” I replied firmly.

“How do you know I am pouting?” he asked.

“I can see your face in the mirror on our dresser,” I reminded him with a chuckle.

“Oh, right,” he laughed as he turned meet my gaze in the glass. “And you are sure I am the man you want to marry? The man who does things like forget about mirrors and is a general pain in your butt?”

“I am his as long as he will have me,” I told him frankly, speaking the words he said to me in my kitchen in Braunschweig right before our first kiss all those years ago, tilting my head up to look him in the eye.

“You stole my line,” he lightly protested.

“What are you going to do about it?” I asked.

“I have an idea, but I think you are going to like it too, so as far as punishments go-” he started but I leaned up and pressed my lips to his to cut him off.

As his lips started to move gently underneath mine I was reminded of another reason I was marrying this amazing man and had no doubts about it. 3 years and 9 months since the first time I remember kissing him and my stomach still fluttered with butterflies every time our lips met. I sighed as his hands tangled in my hair, pressing closer to me as his tongue gently parted my lips.

“You know,” I started as he mouth left mine and started to trail down my neck, “seducing me is not going to make me change my mind. You are sleeping in Bastian’s guest bedroom tonight, and nothing is going to change that. I know I don’t sound very convincing right now, but if you stop kissing my collar bone I am sure I will remember my convictions,” I told him breathlessly.

“Hey guys, are you almost ready, it is- oh jeez, come on you two. What if I had been Katrin?” Anna asked as she walked in and shielded her eyes.

“Katrin knocks,” I replied to Anna as Thomas and I put a respectable distance between us.

“Smart girl. As I was saying before I was blinded, it is almost time to leave. Don’t want to be late for your own rehearsal dinner,” Anna called over her shoulder as she left the room.

“She is right,” I sighed as I stepped away from Thomas. “Do we have everything? Where are your cufflinks?”

“In the right pocket of my suit pants. I think we have everything ready, I just have one more question for you. If we are going to be barefoot for the ceremony, why am I packing my dress shoes?” he asked me.

“Because the museum has a strict policy about wearing shoes inside. Now, if that is everything, let’s go,” I told him zipping up the bag and handing it to him.

**

“Thank you all for being here tonight, proving that you can all walk in a straight line, and letting us feed you a great meal. Before the caterers bring out the most fantastic chocolate pudding you have ever tasted, I wanted to say a few words,” I started.

“First, to my parents, thank you for flying all the way out here from the states to see your only daughter get married to the man who got her pregnant out of wedlock. I know you had your concerns about all of this in the beginning, but you have always trusted me to make the right decision, and my story could just as easily have turned into a nightmare instead of the unbelievable fairy tale it would up being. Thank you for always believing in me and knowing that no matter what I wanted to do I was going to find a way to make it happen. I love you guys so much more than I could ever express.

“To Thomas’s parents, thank you for raising the kindest, funniest, most generous man I have ever met. Every day he surprises me with his compassion and his heart, his bravery and his humility and I know he would not be the man I love without your guidance, and I am forever in your debt for that.

“To the groomsmen, the Bayern Boys, Basti, Manu, Fips, Robert, and Mario, thank you for not letting Thomas die at his bachelor party and thank you especially to Manu for lying to me when I asked if anything happened that I would not approve of, that is probably why you are the best man. You are all great guys, and I can’t think of a better group of honorary Onkels for Katrin.

“To my lovely bridesmaids, Anna, Malin, Claudia, Anna, and Ilse, for being the best friends a girl could ask for. Thank you for putting up with me at my bachelorette party, especially the two Anna’s who let me call them Maid of H’Anna and other Anna once I got really drunk and thought that was a very clever way to tell them apart. It was very kind of you to both not leave me to fend for myself and for not taking too many pictures of my shame. You girls really are the best and I love you all.

“To Benni for agreeing to be the ring bearer, despite thinking that he was supposed to marry the flower girl and being horrified by this idea. The look on your face when you found out the flower girl was going to be your cousin was priceless, little man. You are a trooper, and you deserve whatever your mom used to bribe you.

“To my lovely daughter Katrin, for agreeing to be the flower girl, but only after you learned that you wouldn’t have to pick the flowers herself. I love being your mother, kid, and I am glad that you are ok with me marrying your dad. You are the only person on the planet who might have been able to convince me that marrying him tomorrow would be a bad idea.

“To my mentor and friend Matthias for not only agreeing to marry us, but actually going out and becoming an ordained officiant, thank you so much. We literally could not get married tomorrow without you, and the fact that it is someone we know so well performing the ceremony means the world to us.

“And finally to Thomas. I know you are worried because you have done this before and it didn’t work out very well. But you are my life, you have my love, and my heart only beats for you. Thank you for asking me to take our two lives and make them one. I will never stop loving you and I never want to.

“Thank you all for being here. Whether you related to me or not, you are all my family and I love each and every person in this room,” I finished and everyone started to clap.

As I sat down, Thomas sat up and the applause died down again. “I seem to have forgotten the cardinal rule of giving a speech with Michaela, which is never let her go first. She will say everything you wanted to say, and she will say it much better than you ever could, with infinitely more grace,” he started to speak.

“So I am going to do this quickly. Mom and Dad I love you so much and I owe you everything I am. My soon to be Mother and Father in law, thank you for not discouraging Michaela from giving me a chance. She is an amazing human being and I am going to spend the rest of my life trying and failing to be worthy of her, and that is because you did such a good job raising her. Basti, Mario, Many, Fips, and Robert, my friends, my brothers, my teammates. Thank you for putting up with my stupid jokes and pranks and for never once throwing my off the team bus while it was moving, even though I think it has crossed your minds on more than one occasion. Anna, Anna, Malin, Claudia, and Ilse, all of the wonderful women who calm Michaela down when I do something particularly stupid and convince her to stay with me. I am forever in your debt for that and I thank you. Benni and Katrin, the cutest ring bearer and flower girl the world has ever known, thank you for letting us put you in fancy clothes and parade you around in front of our friends. Matthias thank you for being the kind of man that you would gladly ask to marry anyone, and for never purposefully printing and of the millions of bad pictures I know the publicity department has of me.

“And finally, the one person I could never thank enough. Michaela, I still have no idea why you said yes, but I love you so much more than you will ever know and I look forward to the many adventures we have ahead of us. If the last four years are any indication it is going to be one hell of a ride,” Thomas finished and sat down.

I leaned over to kiss him as the applause started again. We pulled away just as the servers emerged from the kitchen with our desserts.

**

Hours later I was lying in bed looking up at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep, so I grabbed my phone and dialed the number for the one person I wanted to talk to.

“Mphmph,” a sleepy voice mumbled.

“Sorry, baby. Did I wake you?” I asked sheepishly.

“Michaela? It is 2 in the morning, is everything ok? Is something wrong with Katrin?” Thomas asked me, suddenly sounding wide awake.

“No, we are both fine, I just, um…. You know what, never mind, I am just being stupid,” I told him.

“Baby, what is wrong? You didn’t call me in the middle of the night for no reason,” he pointed out.

“I guess I just miss you. I wanted to hear your voice. You are right, this was a stupid idea. If we ever get married again, this is a tradition we can skip,” I joked.

“Do you want me to come home? I can be there in 10 minutes,” Thomas offered.

“No, stay at Basti’s. I shouldn’t have called, it is late and we both need to look pretty tomorrow,” I trailed off.

“Michaela?” Thomas asked.

“Yes?” I responded.

“I miss you too,” he replied.

“You do?” I asked.

“I do. Are you sure you don’t want me to come home?” he asked gently.

“No, I think I am actually ok now. I love you,” I told him.

“I love you, too. I will see you in a few hours,” he promised.

“I will be the one in the dress,” I said, before hanging up the phone and finally falling asleep.

A/N: This chapter is mostly filler, setting up the wedding ceremony, which I will be writing next. Let me know what you think.


	19. With This Ring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is Thomas and Michaela's wedding day!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I was hoping to have this up yesterday in honor of Katrin’s birthday, but family stuff got in the way. I hope you like it!   
> Disclaimer: I don’t own anything you recognize, this is just for fun.

Thomas’ POV:

I was staring in the mirror, straightening my tux, willing away the slight fluttering in my stomach. I was not nervous, my butterflies were due to excitement. I took a deep breath to try to calm myself, when I noticed Manuel had come up behind me and was studying me in the mirror. “What?” I asked him with a chuckle.

“You aren’t having second thoughts, are you? Because I am aware that it is my duty as best man to get you to the end of that aisle no matter what, and if you have cold feet that makes that job harder,” he told me apprehensively as he straightened my collar and smoothed out the back of my tux.

“Don’t worry, my feet are very warm. I am actually excited. By the end of the day the best friend I have ever made will be my wife. So don’t worry, I am not going anywhere,” I promised.

Before he got a chance to respond, the wedding planner poked her head into the room and said, “It is time to walk out. Are you all ready?”

With a chorus of yes’ we all followed her out of the room and down a hallway to a side exit that opened directly into the meadow. When Michaela told me she wanted to get married outside I was unsure, but seeing how it had been decorated, I realized that of course she was right. The chairs were arranged in front of an archway covered in delicate red and white flowers, and the backs of the chairs themselves were decorated in red and white silk with little bunches of flowers placed here and there at random intervals. There was a semi-transparent white canopy that served both as cover from the sun for the guests and would make it impossible for the paparazzi to get usable shots from the air. There was soft music coming from a string quartet that I recognized as one of Michaela’s favorite songs, but didn’t know the name of. I walked to the end of the aisle and shook Matthias’ hand, who pulled me into a hug. When I turned around I found the eyes of family and friends staring back at me. My mother was sitting in the front row looking as though she was tearing up, so I winked at her which had the desired effect of making her smile.

I looked at the top of the aisle when the music changed and discovered Benni was walking down the aisle in his little tux, holding a pillow in his hands. Behind him, Katrin was throwing handfuls of flower petals from the basket she was carrying up in the air and letting them fall. They landed mostly on the grass of the aisle, but there were several in her hair and scattered on various guests. She got to the end of the aisle and looked confused before tugging on my mothers’ sleeve and asking in what I am sure she thought was a quiet voice, “Ami, I have petals left. What do I do?” which caused laughter to ripple through the guests.

“That is up to you. You can save them for later or you can throw them up now,” my mom replied.

“I want to get rid of them now, can you help me?” Katrin asked.

“Of course, darling,” Mom agreed, getting out of her chair and crouching next to Katrin, reaching her hand toward the basket. Before she could, Katrin lifted the basket up and dumped the contents on Mom’s head. Everyone burst out laughing again as my mom pulled Katrin in for a hug.

Once she was released from the embrace, Katrin ran over to me. “Daddy, I got rid of all of the petals, but I saved one for you,” she proudly declared, holding out one red petal to me.

“Thank you, Love. Did you save one for your Mom, too?” I asked, taking the delicate object from her as I picked her up.

“Don’t worry, Mommy has whole flowers in her hair and she looks really pretty, but I gave her one of my petals and she put it on the front of her dress with a pin, but I didn’t get to help with that part, because the pin is sharp and I might get poked,” Katrin informed me.

“Good girl. Now where should I put this?” I mused as the bridesmaids started to make their way down the aisle.

“Put it in your pel, Daddy,” Katrin suggested.

“In my lapel? That is a great idea, Katrin, thank you,” I spoke, tucking the petal in the slit on my lapel, then asking her, “How does it look?”

“Beautiful. Look, there is Mommy, I told you she looks pretty,” Katrin told me, pointing to the top of the aisle.

I looked where she was pointing as Matthias gestured for everyone to stand, and my breath caught in my throat at the vision standing at the top of the aisle on her fathers’ arm.

 

Michaela’s POV:

Thomas met my eyes as I got to the top of the aisle and the look in his eye made my insides melt. He was looking at me like I was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen and all of my nerves evaporated in that instant.

“Who gives this woman away?” Matthias asked as my dad and I reached the top of the aisle.

“Actually I am giving myself away, but my parents give their blessing,” I replied.

“Very well then. Please be seated,” Matthias requested.

“Mommy, I got rid of all of my petals, but I saved one for Daddy and he put it in his pel, see?” Katrin asked me, pointing to a petal on Thomas’ jacket.

“You did? Great job, high five,” I requested, holding out my hand. After she slapped my palm I continued, “Now, your Daddy and I have to get married, so do you want to stay up here with us or do you want to sit with your Ami, Opa, Nana and Pop-pops?”

“I wanna go sit with Nana,” she replied, wiggling down from Thomas’ arms and running over to my mom’s lap.

“Are we ready to start?” Matthias asked once she was settled.

“Yes, sorry about that,” I apologized.

“Welcome everyone, as we celebrate the commitment of Thomas and Michaela. Theirs is an unconventional love story, but the love they share is a constant inspiration to all of us. They grew up in different countries, lived in different cities when they met, were pursuing careers that might never have led to them crossing paths at all, and Thomas was committed to another when they met. These seem like insurmountable odds to overcome, but overcome them they did, with the grace and surety that makes me believe that these two were meant to be together. A twist of fate brought them together and respect, love, tenacity, and compromise have kept them that way. They have somehow managed to raise the most well-behaved child on the planet, who is curious and intelligent like her mother, dedicated and tenacious like her father, and has the potential to be anything she puts her mind to, which given who her parents are is not a surprise. The only thing that surprises me about their relationship is that it took them this long to get to married.

“Now, before we get going too far, does anyone have any reason why Thomas and Michaela should not be married today? No? Great, moving on. They have decided to write their own vows and Thomas is going to read his first,” Matthias said.

“Thank you, Matthias. Michaela, you are the one who is good at giving the speeches, if I have to give speeches at work or read prepared remarks, you are the one who writes them for me. Obviously that would not be appropriate in this circumstance, even though I am sometimes convinced you can read my mind and you definitely know me better than I know myself. It is not easy to suddenly be thrust into the spotlight and you have navigated this life with a grace that constantly inspires me. You know exactly who you are and have never once compromised that, no matter how easy it would have been. I have never once had doubts about you because when I lose my way you are the one who puts me back on the path. You are my match in every way and I will spend every day of the rest of our lives trying to be worthy of you. Thank you for seeing things in me that I don’t always see in myself. You have given me the best gifts I could ever hope to receive in our daughter and in your heart and I will never be worthy of those gifts, but I have eternity to try. I admire you, I respect you, you are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, and you make me want to promise I will never stop trying,” he vowed, bringing our clasped hands up to his lips before reaching out to wipe away the tears that had escaped at his beautiful words.

“Very good, Thomas. Michaela it is your turn,” Matthias informed me.

“When I was growing up I never believed in the institution of marriage. I thought that the idea of legally binding yourself to one person for the rest of your lives was unnecessary, and quite frankly ridiculous. I thought it would be enough for me to commit myself to someone without bringing paperwork into it. It seemed more romantic to me not to get married, because contracts were for business arrangements, and marriage should be more than just a beneficial arrangement for 2 parties. I was also afraid that I would never find someone who would be willing to commit to me for the rest of our lives, so not getting married seemed like a good way to negate the fallout when the relationship ended. In short, I never imagined when I was growing up that I would ever find someone who would be so perfect for me that I would never have a doubt about us spending the rest of our lives together. You make me want to be a better person, Thomas, you have given me a beautiful child, you are everything I never realized I was looking for until I had found it in you. I think that if I had never met you I would never have wanted to get married. Thank you for changing my mind. Thank you for being my match. Thank you for sharing your love and your life with me. Thank you for being the man who decided that I was worth taking that risk on,” I finished.

“Along with their vows, Thomas and Michaela have decided to do a hand fasting, which is a ceremony that incorporates a physical representation of the non-physical bonds they are forging today. Thomas and Michaela, do you promise to commit to only each other for the rest of your lives, no matter where they may take you and no matter who else crosses your paths?” Matthias asked, draping the first rope over our clasped hands.

“I do,” we both responded.

Matthias tied the first rope before laying the second over our hands and asking, “Do you promise to commit to only each other for the rest of your lives and to take any trials and tribulations that the other may be facing as your own and find a solution together?”

“I do,” we answered.

Matthias tied the second rope before placing the third. “Do you promise to commit to only each other for the rest of your lives and share any triumphs that you may have with each other and celebrate success as a pair?”

“I do,” we replied, and Matthias tied the last rope.

“Now we are ready for the rings. Thomas and Michaela these rings are a physical representation of the commitment you have made to each other. A precious, unending circle that will serve as a daily reminder of these vows you have made in front of friends and family here today. Thomas, repeat after me. I, Thomas Müller, take you, Michaela Krause, to be my lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward for as long as we both shall live,” Matthias requested.

Thomas repeated the words, then I was instructed to do the same. “Now, please place the rings on each other’s fingers and say with this ring, I thee wed.”

Thomas winked at me as he slipped the ring on my finger and I couldn’t help the huge smile that came to my face as I slipped his ring on.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride,” Matthias declared and Thomas pulled me to him, cupping both of my cheeks before leaning in to press his lips to mine sweetly. Everything else disappeared when our lips met, the applause from our guests, the bridal party, Matthias, I even lost track of the grass under my feet for a moment as Thomas kissed me. All I knew as he kissed me was his lips, his scent, and that deep sense of joy I felt at the notion that this would be mine for the rest of my life.

A/N: If you want to know what Michaela’s dress looked like, [here](https://41.media.tumblr.com/5fcadda8ea00d8eb4dfcc5e90b155bb4/tumblr_n3mgt2KUMr1qg2ligo1_1280.jpg) is the style of it, just imagine it in white.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: There is probably one chapter left, but this is the moment it has all been leading up too. Thank you all for sticking with me for this story, I know it has taken a while to write, but I hope you have enjoyed reading it half as much as I have enjoyed writing it.


	20. ... I Thee Wed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I am so sad to be finishing this story, but I don’t think this will be the last time you see Thomas, Michaela, and Katrin or Anna and Bastian. Send me an ask if you want to see something specific, I am one of those writers that put in little moments because they had this huge idea that didn’t really fit with the whole story, but they put a lot of thought into it, so they put a shout out to that moment in the actual fic.  
> Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize, this is just for fun. This is not real; it is fiction.

Michaela’s POV:

“I am pleased to present, for the first time ever, Thomas and Michaela Müller!” The DJ spoke into the microphone as we walked into the ballroom, an instrumental version of “The Way You Look Tonight” being drown out by the cheering of our family and friends. We made our way up to the front table and the DJ handed Thomas a microphone as we passed the booth.

“Welcome, everyone to this celebration of love and commitment, we are very pleased to have you all here. There will be a time for speeches later, but for now the caterers will be out with the food soon, so grab a drink and enjoy the party to celebrate the fact that she has known me for 4 years and for some reason still said yes to the rest of our lives. Cheers,” Thomas spoke, lifting the glass of champagne that had been placed in front of him by a passing waiter. There was a smattering of laughter mixed in with the chorus of cheers he got in response.

“If I could have I would have said yes to longer,” I whispered in his ear as we sat down, my hand on his shoulder as I faced away from the crowd.

“Is that so, Mrs. Müller?” he asked, his eyes lighting up mischievously.

“Absolutely. I would spend forever with you if I could,” I replied, a smile spreading across my face at the admission.

“Me too,” he agreed, bringing my hand up so he could lightly brush his lips across my knuckles.

The room was suddenly filled with clinking as people started to lightly tap their glasses and a couple of people shouted “Kiss! Kiss!”

“I don’t think they are going to stop until we comply,” I noted with an air of concern, my twinkling eyes now matching his.

“Well then I suppose we should give them what they want,” he answered, leaning in with a chuckle to brush his lips to mine. As soon as our lips met the clinking was replaced by cheering. Thomas pulled away with a smile on his face and mouthed the words ‘I love you.’ His smile only got bigger when I mouthed back ‘I love you, too.’ He burst out laughing when I stuck my tongue out at him playfully.

We had a great meal while the DJ played some of our favorite songs and before I knew it the plates had been cleared. Manu took the microphone and was clearing his throat before saying, “For those of you who don’t know me, I am Manuel, Thomas’ best man.”

“You are the best keeper on the planet, Manu, every person in this room knows who you are, even if they have never met you, get on with it,” Lukas shouted from the middle of the room, making everyone laugh and causing Neuer to turn bright red.

“Oi! Don’t make me go over there, Podolski, this is my wedding and you will have a chance to speak later, which I am sure you will take. But for now shut it and listen to the best man,” I ordered.

“Right, what she said. I’ve got my eye on you too, Poldi,” Manu agreed, chuckling good naturedly along with everyone else. “As I was saying, I am the best man. I have known Thomas for many years, ever since this, quite frankly, scrawny little 20 year old kid showed up at National Team practice one day in November. Granted this was a scrawny little kid who had already bested me in a match, but I was prepared to chalk it up to a fluke. Sure he was the talk of the Bundesliga, and everyone seemed to want him, but I was so butt-hurt that he had managed to score against me that I was prepared to completely write this kid off as 100% hype.

“I even remember going up to Fips after warm ups and asking if Thomas really lived up to all the hype. Fips was, as always, very diplomatic about it and simply said, ‘Well, you can judge for yourself after practice.’

“In that practice Thomas gave me a lesson in humility I will never forget. He is the kind of player that either makes you a better player or completely walks all over you. And the worst part is that he is the nicest guy on the planet, so you are left just standing there wanting to hate the guy for being better than you, but he is off thinking up a joke to make you laugh so you feel better. The moment I realized that was the moment I knew that Thomas and I were going to be good friends, even if we were playing for rival teams at the time.

“Flash forward 4 years and we all meet the lovely Michaela at a bar. My first impression of her was very different, she was charming, funny, and articulate, which was extra impressive when you factor in the fact that she was completely smashed and communicating in a language that was not her native tongue. I remember thinking 2 things about her that night. The first was that she was possibly the most surprising woman I had ever met. And the second was that she was going to make some guy very lucky someday.

“I am not going to sugar coat it and say that their journey to where they are was easy. But they managed to find something in each other to base a strong relationship on, despite the fact that very few people thought they would last. I am constantly in awe of their relationship and I have no doubts that it will last. So I raise a glass to Thomas and Michaela, who found true love in unusual circumstances. May your love continue to be an inspiration to us for many years to come,” he finished, bringing his champagne glass to his lips as the rest of the room did the same.

As the applause died down, Manu handed the microphone to Anna. “Hello everyone, my name is Anna, I am the Maid of Honor. I am going to apologize to those of you expecting me to make a heartfelt speech right now. Sorry, that is just not how I do things.

“So I met Michaela years ago when we were both in secondary school. At my father’s insistence I did a year abroad in America and her family wound up hosting me. Here I was this British kid, who had lived most of her life in Germany, in America for the first time and I was determined to hate everything about it, including Michaela.

“The only problem with my plan was that it is absolutely impossible to hate Michaela when you get to know her. She is infuriatingly nice, annoyingly selfless, and to top that off she is impossibly hilarious, if you have an appreciation for dry humor, which as most of you know is a prerequisite for any person claiming to be British. And I made it my mission to corrupt her before the end of the year.

“Until I realized that she was in fact not as annoyingly pure as she seemed. I remember one lunch in particular where one classmate she did not care for walked into the lunch room and prompted only by this incident, Michaela looks over at me and asks if I thought she wore so little clothing because she was worried about all the air in her head getting warm and causing her to float away. Look at her blushing, that is cute, but you know that this is all true. That was the moment that I realized that we were going to be partners in crime for a very long time.

“I have to admit that I have not been particularly pleased by her selection in romantic partners before Thomas. Historically she has chosen proper twats who don’t deserve her and somehow wind up either breaking her heart or doing something completely moronic that even she can’t forgive. And that is largely because it is her nature to look beyond the bad things and see only the good things in people.

“Which I think might be why she and Thomas are here today. I am not a big believer in destiny and fate, but I don’t think we are here today by accident. We all know the story, Thomas was married, they lived hundreds of Kilometers apart, he is a famous footballer, she was just a college student determined to get her degree, and by all accounts the two of them should never have met at all. I have never tried to calculate it, but I am pretty confident that the odds of them meeting and building a lasting relationship from a one-night stand were astronomical.

“But here we are. And I don’t think it was an accident. I am not sure I believe in soulmates, but I don’t think there are many couples on the planet who are better suited for each other than Thomas and Michaela. They are sickeningly sweet, perfectly persistent, and absolutely on the same page about just about everything. I would say that because of all of that it is not fair that they also have the single best kid on the planet, but I think it is because of all of that that Katrin is so nice, polite, well-behaved, and,  quite frankly, remarkably compassionate for a 3 year old. In short they have molded a tiny person instead of raising a child. I don’t know how you both have done that on top of all the other things you have going on; all I know is that if I ever have kids they will be spending a lot of time at your house.

“So I am  not just raising a glass to Thomas and Michaela, I am raising a glass to whatever force in the universe brought them together, and decided to help keep them that way. It has been a wild ride and it is not over yet. To fate and the future,” Anna toasted, taking a sip of her champagne as the room started to applaud.

“Thank you, Anna,” the DJ said, pulling attention back to the booth. “I have listened to a lot of wedding speeches in my day, but I think that might be the first time the best man went for heartfelt while the maid of honor went for funny. Well done, both of you. Now I would like to invite Thomas and Michaela to the dance floor for their first dance.”

After the first dance there were the father/daughter and mother/son dances, and the cutting of the cake. Next thing I knew Thomas had his head under my dress to retrieve my garter belt, causing me to blush bright red when his teeth gently nipped my thigh, all to the tune of You Can Leave Your Hat On. I was not the only one blushing by the end though, because the belt landed neatly in Gianluca Guadino’s hands, and the young man looked slightly horrified at it for a minute, slowly turning color until he looked like a tomato, before throwing it at Podolski, who put it on his head like a frilly bandana.

“Ok, ladies, now it is your turn, please come to the dancefloor and try to remember that you are all friends and the bouquet is just flowers. Here we go,” the DJ spoke into the microphone, cuing up O Fortuna from Carmina Burana.

With a chuckle I turned my back on the crowd and threw the bouquet over my shoulder. I heard a scuffle and turned around to see Anna holding the bouquet in her hands. I looked around and saw Bastian grabbing a microphone from the DJ and walking over to her.

“Hello, sorry for the interruption. In addition to being a famous footballer, I am also the longtime boyfriend of the maid of honor. She and I have been dating ever since she mildly stalked me and wore me down. When I agreed to one date I thought that it was a small price to pay to make her realize that we are not in fact compatible and leave me alone. I never dreamed that I would fall in love with her. But I did, and I have slowly decided that I would like to spend the rest of my life with her, if that is ok with her. So Anna,” he crouched down on one knee in front of her, pulling out a ring box. “Will you marry me?”

She looked shocked for a moment and I was sure she was going to say yes. So when she started to hit him with the bouquet, causing red snapdragons and tiny white orange blossoms to fly everywhere, and started to yell, “This is my best friend’s wedding, her big day, you twat, what is the matter with you?” I was a little surprised.

“Anna, stop,” I chuckled, hopping off the stage and making my way over as fast as I could in my heels. When I reached her, I took the bouquet back. “Hey, calm down,” I implored, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“No, he could have proposed any other day of the year, but he picks the one day of the year that my best friend is getting married. Are you kidding me? It is not fair to you and I refuse to steal your thunder,” Anna replied.

“Anna, he asked me for my permission to do this weeks ago. I am ok with it, I promise,” I told her.

“Are you sure?” she asked, her anger fading.

“Yes, I am positive. Now, I believe Bastian is waiting for an answer,” I prompted.

“Yes, of course the answer is yes,” Anna answered, throwing her arms around Bastian and kissing him full on the mouth.

After he put on the engagement ring on her finger and I had given her the slightly worse for wear bouquet back, she wiped a tear from her eye and said, “You made me cry, you dork.”

“That is her way of saying I love you, by the way,” I laughed into the microphone Bastian was still holding for the benefit of the couple of people in the crowd who didn’t know Anna.

“She said yes! Wow, that was intense,” the DJ spoke into the microphone, and everyone cheered. “Now, how about we open the dance floor back up to celebrate? I am going to throw on something romantic, so grab your date and join both couples on the floor.”

I became aware that Thomas was by my side when he grabbed my hand and swept me up into his arms. We danced in silence for a moment, his hand warm on the small of my back, even through the thick material of the dress. “That was entertaining,” he chuckled after a moment.

“No kidding. Who would have thought that Anna would be the one to have a meltdown at our wedding?” I asked, a smile stretching across my face.

“No kidding, my money was on Katrin,” Thomas replied.

“You didn’t think I was going to go all bridezilla?” I asked him.

“No, that would require you to think of yourself before everyone else. It just isn’t in your nature,” he teased.

“Hey, you are supposed to be nice to me today, it is my wedding day,” I replied, poking him in the chest playfully.

“If you will remember it is my wedding day too,” he reminded me, as we gently swayed across the dancefloor.

“You make fun of me for being selfless, so I make an attempt to be selfish and you chastise me for it. You are very confusing, Mr. Müller,” I teased him.

“I am so sorry. Do you think you can find it in your heart to forgive me, Mrs. Müller?” he asked, leaning in.

“Never stopping calling me that is a great way to prove your penitence,” I answered, pulling him closer by grabbing his tie lightly.

“The name is yours as long as you want it, Mrs. Müller,” he replied, leaning in and kissing me, the sound of the music and the people in the room fading as I became lost in the kiss, very happy that this was the man I was going to spend the rest of my life with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Ok, that is it! If you enjoyed it leave me kudos, and if you really liked it please leave me a comment, honestly they do make my day. I am thinking of doing a one-shot where they sit down with the DJ to pick all of the songs for the reception, or at least putting together a playlist, let me know if you want me to do that. Thank you all for reading, this story has been a crazy ride and I am a little sad it is over.


End file.
